Environmental and resource implications of phosphorus recovery from waste activated sludge

Sørensen, Birgitte Lilholt; Dall, Ole Leinikka; Habib, Komal

doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2015.02.012

Cited by 52 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Currently, about 82% of the mined phosphorus is used in agriculture, while the production of animal feed uses 7%. The remaining 11% of the mined phosphorus is used in industry and medicine for the production of pharmaceuticals, oils, detergents, or even textiles [2][3][4]. Agricultural fertilizer manufacturing accounts for 90% of phosphorus resource use and traditional agricultural fertilization almost completely dominates the use of phosphorus resources [1].…”

Section: The Importance Of Phosphorusmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of phosphorus recovery from different thermal treatment products of sewage sludge

Meng

Huang

et al. 2019

Waste Dispos. Sustain. Energy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Phosphorus (P) is an indispensable element of living organisms and plays an irreplaceable role in the growth of crops. As a non-renewable element, the reserves of phosphorus rock, the primary source of phosphorus in nature, are facing the danger of exhaustion. As a phosphorus-rich solid waste, sewage sludge has gradually become a main renewable phosphorus resource. The combination of effective recycling of phosphorus and innocuous disposal of sewage sludge can not only alleviate the crisis of phosphate rock resources shortage but also reduce the environmental hazards of sewage sludge. This study reviewed the application of thermal treatment in sewage sludge disposal. Besides the advantages of reducing waste volume, decomposing organic pollutants, generating valuable byproducts, it can also significantly promote the recycling of phosphorus. Studies have shown that thermal treatment (incineration, pyrolysis, and hydrothermal) can enrich phosphorus in the products and transform the speciation of phosphorus to increase the bioavailability. The physical and chemical properties of different thermal treatment products and the speciation of phosphorus are different. The transformation and migration of phosphorus affect the efficiency of subsequent phosphorus recovery and reuse. At the same time, this study compared several general phosphorus recovery methods (wet extraction, thermochemical, and electrochemical methods), and further summarized the advantages and disadvantages of various methods and application conditions. This review summarizes recent advances in phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge, identifies challenges and knowledge gaps, and provides the foundation for future research aimed at achieving efficient, economic, and eco-friendly reclamation of phosphorus in sewage sludge.

show abstract

Section: The Importance Of Phosphorusmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of phosphorus recovery from different thermal treatment products of sewage sludge

Meng

Huang

et al. 2019

Waste Dispos. Sustain. Energy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Hence, a growing interest in the extraction of phosphorus from "secondary" resources, in which it ends up, can be noticed. Readers are referred to papers, such as [19][20][21] and the references cited by these authors. In terms of "secondary" resources and technologies, many papers focus on waste water and waste water treatment technologies for the extraction of phosphor from waste water.…”

Section: Why Phosphate Is Needed and Whether We Are Running Out Of Phmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Model for the Optimal Recovery of Multiple Substances from Waste Water with a Focus on Phosphate

Bongaerts

2018

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In recent times, the issue of a "Phosphate Peak" has entered the academic debate and it is widely present in social media. Arguments in favour and against are similar to those mentioned in the much earlier debate on the "Oil Peak". However, whereas the "Oil Peak" is supply driven, the "Phosphate Peak", if at all, is demand driven. In contrast with oil, most of which is chemically transformed in CO 2 , vapor and other constituting elements, phosphate is not "consumed" during its primary use as a fertilizer. Hence, whilst phosphate rock, from which phosphate is mined, is a depletable resource, phosphate itself is potentially recyclable and re-usable. Research on the technologies for such a recovery is manifold and, specifically, efforts are spent on waste water as a source of phosphate. This, if successful, could lead to a changing perception of waste water treatment plants as a set of backstop technologies to eliminate an environmental problem into a "secondary liquid mine" from which phosphate, but not only phosphate, could be extracted for re-use. Hence, for that purpose, an economic model of efficient extraction of phosphate and other elements from waste water in a waste water treatment plant could give guidance to operators. This paper presents such a model describing the optimal simultaneous extraction of several elements, including phosphate, from a "secondary liquid mine". The elements are assumed to be present in given proportions (ratios) in this "mine" and the model shows that these ratios have an impact on the optimal extraction path and on resulting "implicit" shadow pricing rules to be adopted by the waste water treatment plant operator.

show abstract

“…Circular economy offers interesting opportunities for wastewater treatment, and not only for the use of the energy contained in the wastewater [17]. Wastewater contains a considerable concentration of phosphorus [18], which is the basic raw material for the production of phosphate fertilizers. Currently the price of phosphate rock (the raw material of phosphate fertilizers) is relatively low.…”

Section: Wastewater Treatment Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The concept of Circular Economy applied to CCS, Waste and Wastewater Treatment Technologies

Kočí¹,

Republic²,

Rocha³

et al. 2016

5th Annual International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environmental Sciences (SEES 2016)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Circular economy (CE) is a novel concept that promotes sustainable management of energy and materials in the industry. Contrary to linear economy, CE focuses on minimalizing the amount of waste and promoting its use as secondary materials. The article explores the implications of applying CE in the field of: air protection technologies, such as carbon capture and storage, waste treatment, and wastewater treatment technologies. The article concentrates on the current environmental challenges and the modern aspects of circular economy. The main obstacle of circular economy is the requirement for constant economic growth without accounting for environmental externalities.

show abstract

Environmental and resource implications of phosphorus recovery from waste activated sludge

Cited by 52 publications

References 15 publications

A review of phosphorus recovery from different thermal treatment products of sewage sludge

A review of phosphorus recovery from different thermal treatment products of sewage sludge

A Model for the Optimal Recovery of Multiple Substances from Waste Water with a Focus on Phosphate

The concept of Circular Economy applied to CCS, Waste and Wastewater Treatment Technologies

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About