Chapter 7
Nitrogenous Wastes and Its Efficient
Treatment in Wastewater
Parmita Chawley, Krishna Yadav, and Sheeja Jagadevan
7.1 Introduction
Overgrowing population, luxurious lifestyle, and rapid industrialization demand
huge supply of both potable and non-potable water. The above mentioned development and lifestyle lead to a scarcity of freshwater supply. Growing imbalance
between freshwater availability and consumption by all living organisms necessitates recycling and reuse of wastewater. The need for adequate treatment of wastewater which enters the aquatic ecosystem due to anthropogenic activities from rural
and urban sectors is therefore essential. Among various pollutants such as
polyaromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorobiphenyls, sulfonamides, pyridine, ammonia, peptides, nitrogenous wastes and phosphates which destabilize the quality of
natural water bodies, nitrogenous wastes are of main concern. Inorganic and bioavailable forms of nitrogen such as NO
À
3 , NH
þ
4 , and NO
À
2 and the presence of
organic nitrogen (urea, protein hydrolysates) originating from decomposition of
nitrogenous wastes serve as nutrients in the environment. These are some of the
major causes of eutrophication of lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, and other surface
water bodies (Kumari et al. 2019). Advances in wastewater treatment (WWT)
technologies are crucial for the improvement of environmental quality. Moreover,
it is imperative to limit the entry of point sources of chemical contaminants such as
industrial discharges into surface waters.
Several kinds of physical, chemical, and biological treatment of wastewater for
removal of nitrogenous wastes are in practice. Physical treatment processes, such as
membrane filtration, electrodialysis, etc., are the conventionally employed wastewater treatment technologies. Chemical treatment technologies including conventional
P. Chawley · K. Yadav · S. Jagadevan (*)
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian
School of Mines), Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India
e-mail: sheejaj@iitism.ac.in
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
A. Singh et al. (eds.), Water Pollution and Management Practices,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8358-2_7
147
Nitrogenous Wastes and Its Efficient
Treatment in Wastewater
Parmita Chawley, Krishna Yadav, and Sheeja Jagadevan
7.1 Introduction
Overgrowing population, luxurious lifestyle, and rapid industrialization demand
huge supply of both potable and non-potable water. The above mentioned development and lifestyle lead to a scarcity of freshwater supply. Growing imbalance
between freshwater availability and consumption by all living organisms necessitates recycling and reuse of wastewater. The need for adequate treatment of wastewater which enters the aquatic ecosystem due to anthropogenic activities from rural
and urban sectors is therefore essential. Among various pollutants such as
polyaromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorobiphenyls, sulfonamides, pyridine, ammonia, peptides, nitrogenous wastes and phosphates which destabilize the quality of
natural water bodies, nitrogenous wastes are of main concern. Inorganic and bioavailable forms of nitrogen such as NO
À
3 , NH
þ
4 , and NO
À
2 and the presence of
organic nitrogen (urea, protein hydrolysates) originating from decomposition of
nitrogenous wastes serve as nutrients in the environment. These are some of the
major causes of eutrophication of lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, and other surface
water bodies (Kumari et al. 2019). Advances in wastewater treatment (WWT)
technologies are crucial for the improvement of environmental quality. Moreover,
it is imperative to limit the entry of point sources of chemical contaminants such as
industrial discharges into surface waters.
Several kinds of physical, chemical, and biological treatment of wastewater for
removal of nitrogenous wastes are in practice. Physical treatment processes, such as
membrane filtration, electrodialysis, etc., are the conventionally employed wastewater treatment technologies. Chemical treatment technologies including conventional
P. Chawley · K. Yadav · S. Jagadevan (*)
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian
School of Mines), Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India
e-mail: sheejaj@iitism.ac.in
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
A. Singh et al. (eds.), Water Pollution and Management Practices,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8358-2_7
147