A newly isolated salt-tolerant anammox bacterium from the Red Sea, Candidatus Scalindua sp. AMX11, removes nitrogen from salty wastewater, paving the way for coastal cities to flush toilets with seawater and save precious freshwater, according to research by Pascal Saikaly’s team at KAUST.
“Seawater toilet flushing is already in practice in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo,” notes KAUST research scientist Muhammad Ali.
Laboratory tests showed the microbe achieved about 90 % nitrogen removal at 1.2 % salinity in real seawater, overcoming the salt sensitivity of conventional treatment bacteria. The next step is to integrate AMX11 into full-scale granular reactors and pilot the process with industry partners.