The goal of wastewater treatment is the conversion and removal of pollutants from water. Ammonium is one such pollutant which can be converted into harmless N2 by bacteria. However, at present, ammonium is often not fully converted into N2 in our wastewater treatment plants due to poor monitoring systems of the process of ammonium removal. This leads to ammonium discharges and release of the greenhouse gas N2O, impacting both human well-being and the environment, a considerable contribution to climate change. Currently, ammonium-sensing practices in wastewater treatment plants encompass traditional analytical methods that are time-consuming, expensive, unsuitable for real-time monitoring, and lack the required sensitivity and specificity. Conversely, biological-based Nitrosomonas-biosensors have ensured accurate ammonium measurements. However, these biosensors do not operate in the anoxic conditions and pH ranges that are found in wastewater treatment systems.
In this project we will demonstrate a new ammonium biosensor that overcomes the deficiencies present in the state-of-the-art. Implementation of this new biosensor will allow effective real-time monitoring of ammonium and operations in the low oxygen and anoxic conditions present in wastewater treatment plants.
