To
reduce operational costs and carbon footprints, it is highly
desirable to achieve energy neutrality in municipal wastewater treatment
plants (WWTPs). We reviewed more than 100 nitrification/denitrification
(N/DN)- and anaerobic ammonia oxidation (ANAMMOX)-based wastewater
treatment systems. The energy consumption performance of N/DN systems
ranged from 0.3 to 4 kWh/kg of COD and from 5 to 15 kWh/kg of N, while
those of ANAMMOX-based systems ranged from 1 to 5 kWh/kg of COD and
from 0.5 to 1.5 kWh/kg of N. According to an energy balance analysis
of typical domestic wastewater (COD = 500 mg/L; TN = 50 mg/L) treatment,
the conventional N/DN process consumes an average of 0.5 kWh/m3 (1.78 MJ/m3) more energy than the amount recovered
from the digestion and incineration of its sludge. However, if wastewater
is pretreated using a chemically enhanced primary treatment or anaerobic
treatment (AT), subsequent ANAMMOX-based wastewater treatment systems
may realize WWTP energy autarky or even electricity outputs of ≤0.17
kWh/m3. In such a nexus of energy recovery, the biogas
generation from the AT or the digestion of sludge would be a more
effective way to recover energy than the incineration of dewatered
digestates. The combination of early stage COD capture and ANAMMOX
is a promising approach to achieving sustainable energy performance
in future WWTPs.