Heterotrophic denitrification was examined using sugar as low-cost carbon source.
Suspended and attached growth reactors were tested under various C/N ratios.
Specific surface area affected drastically denitrification rates.
Biofilter led to high denitrification rates (6.98 kg/m3d) at low cost (0.019 €/KgN).
A novel mathematical model was developed for denitrification process.