Removal of Ammonium from Ammonium-Contaminated Effluent of Isfahan Steel Company (ESCO) by Activated Sludge and Compost

Removal of ammonium is very important due to its toxicity to the environment and human being. The wastewater of Isfahan Steel Company (ESC) Contains high concentration of phenol (maximum 3000 mg/l) and ammonium (maximum 2000 mg/l). Therefore its effluent In the range of 1400 mg/l was used in this study as a feed. Synthetic wastewater also used for the comparison of removal efficiency. The bioremediation of ammonium in wastewater treatment of Isfahan Steel Company is very low. In this study activated sludge and compost were used to remove ammonium from effluent of Steel Company and synthetic wastewater. The results showed the maximum removal of ammonium by using activated sludge and compost in combination with mineral salts and glucose and CaCl2 in the effluent of ESC and synthetic wastewater were found 38.7% and 75.7% of respectively. The application of activated sludge and compost in effluents containing low ammonium and toxicity is very significant. Overall, due to considerable efficiency and low cost, this process could be used for ammonium removal in industrial wastewater.