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Sustainable sludge management

A second life for sewage sludge

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria, a game-changer in biological wastewater nitrogen removal, are showing promise in real-world applications. Now, researchers report a strategy for rapidly producing valuable anammox seeds from sewage sludge, a by-product of wastewater treatment that requires careful management and disposal.

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Fig. 1: Upcycling sewage sludge into anammox seeds.

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Acknowledgements

T.L. acknowledges the support of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council’s Early Career Scheme (PolyU 25238324).

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Correspondence to Tao Liu.

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Chen, D., Liu, T. A second life for sewage sludge. Nat Sustain 8, 1242–1243 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-025-01638-1

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