Is nitrogen removal required in for recycling wastewater and reusing for purposes like toilet flushing, car washing or gardening? I would appreciate your insights.
It depends how much biodegradable stuff you have in the water to be treated.
It depends on the nitrogenous chemical species in the water and the concentrations. For car washing or toilet flushing, it would not be of much concern. For gardening, extra nitrogen might be beneficial for plants, or it could be of concern if it enters waterways (eutrophication) or contaminates drinking water sources.
Supplementary to Mr Lees' great answer, if wastewater have high concentration of ammonium ions and not been subjected to aeration for nitrification (biochemical transformation of ammonium ions to nitrate), then the possibility of a "smelly" water is at glance.
The USEPA has specific guidelines for reusing wastewater. According to the guidelines, nitrogen-containing wastewater can be used for gardening if the concentration is not too high; however, some nitrogen compounds are corrosive and may damage toilet flushing systems and car washing applications.
Please see the details guideline for more information -
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