Is denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation-centered technologies a solution for the sustainable operation of wastewater treatment Plants?

With the world's increasing energy crisis, society is growingly considered that the operation of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) should be shifted in sustainable paradigms with low energy input, or energy-neutral, or even energy output. There is a lack of critical thinking on whether and how new paradigms can be implemented in WWTPs based on the conventional process. The denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) process, which uses methane and nitrate (or nitrite) as electron donor and acceptor, respectively, has recently been discovered. Based on critical analyses of this process, DAMO-centered technologies can be considered as a solution for sustainable operation of WWTPs. In this review, a possible strategy with DAMO-centered technologies was outlined and illustrated how this applies for the existing WWTPs energy-saving and newly designed WWTPs energy-neutral (or even energy-producing) towards sustainable operations.