What is one of the two main functions of advanced treatment in wastewater management?

Advanced treatment in wastewater management plays a pivotal role in enhancing the quality of effluent prior to its discharge or reuse. One of its primary functions is the removal of nutrients such as nitrogen or phosphorus. These nutrients, when present in elevated concentrations in discharged water, can lead to detrimental environmental impacts, such as eutrophication—a process that results in excessive growth of algae in water bodies, diminishing oxygen levels and harming aquatic life.

Through advanced treatment processes, technologies like biological nutrient removal (BNR), chemical precipitation, and membrane filtration are employed to effectively reduce nitrogen and phosphorus levels. This is essential for protecting water quality in receiving environments and ensuring compliance with stringent regulatory standards for wastewater discharge.

In contrast, sediment removal focuses primarily on clarifying water and is typically associated with preliminary or primary treatment stages rather than advanced methods. Increasing water temperature or reducing microbial activity does not align with the main objectives of advanced treatment, which is geared towards enhancing biological and chemical removal efficiency rather than altering the thermal properties or simply decreasing microbial presence without addressing nutrient pollution.