Innovative Processes and Technologies for Nutrient Recovery from Wastes: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Waste management is necessary for environmental and economic sustainability, but it depends upon socioeconomic, political, and environmental factors. More countries are shifting toward recycling as compared to landfilling; thus, different researchers have presented the zero waste concept, considering the importance of sustainability. This review was conducted to provide information about different well established and new/emerging technologies which could be used to recover nutrients from wastes and bring zero waste concepts in practical life. Technologies can be broadly divided into the triangle of nutrient accumulation, extraction, and release. Physicochemical mechanisms, plants, and microorganisms (algae and prokaryotic) could be used to accumulate nutrients. Extraction of nutrient is possible through electrodialysis and crystallization while nutrient release can occur via thermochemical and biochemical treatments. Primary nutrients, i.e., nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, are used globally and are non-renewable. Augmented upsurges in prices of inorganic fertilizers and required discharge restrictions on nutrients have stimulated technological developments. Thus, well-proven technologies, such as biochar, composting, vermicomposting, composting with biochar, pyrolysis, and new emerging technologies (forward osmosis and electro-dialysis) have potential to recover nutrients from wastes. Therefore, reviewing the present and imminent potential of these technologies for adaptation of nutrient recycling from wastes is of great importance. Since waste management is a significant concern all over the globe and technologies, e.g., landfill, combustion, incineration, pyrolysis, and gasification, are available to manage generated wastes, they have adverse impacts on society and on the environment. Thus, climate-friendly technologies, such as composting, biodegradation, and anaerobic decomposition, with the generation of non-biodegradable wastes need to be adopted to ensure a sustainable future environment. Furthermore, environmental impacts of technology could be quantified by life cycle assessment (LCA). Therefore, LCA could be used to evaluate the performance of different environmentally-friendly technologies in waste management and in the designing of future policies. LCA, in combination with other approaches, may prove helpful in the development of strategies and policies for the selection of dynamic products and processes.

GGE Biplot Analysis of Genotype × Environment Interaction and Yield Stability in Bambara Groundnut

“…Soybean performance and stability in MET using GGE biplot analysis was also reported by Dalló et al [25]. Other applications of GGE biplot have been reported on various crops such as maize [26], sugarcane [27], sunflower [28], rice [17], and wheat [29].…”

Sustainable Fertilizers: Publication Landscape on Wastes as Nutrient Sources, Wastewater Treatment Processes for Nutrient Recovery, Biorefineries, and Green Ammonia Synthesis

“…Wastewater treatment processes that recover acceptable amounts of nutrients with minimal environmental impact are a key challenge. Environmental impact of nutrient recovery technologies can be estimated by life cycle assessment (LCA), which allows us to compare potential environmental impacts of fertilizers obtained from recovered nutrients to that of conventional fertilizers. − This modeling helps to determine costs and benefits of sustainable wastewater treatment systems with integrated nutrient recovery (struvite and biosolids), water purification for irrigation, energy production (biogas), and useful chemical production . Still, development of newer, more energy-efficient, cost-effective, modular, transportable, or multiple-use integrated systems could improve the recovery of nutrients and other products.…”

New developments in biological phosphorus accessibility and recovery approaches from soil and waste streams

“…The current state of composting and vermicomposting of harvest residues and the transformations into products, which contain available P for plant growth was covered by Roy (2017) [41] and Ahmed et al. (2019) [8]. Harvest residues with a high P content can also be used as fertilizer in form of biochar products.…”

“…These include biologically unavailable P in soil, agricultural runoff after over‐fertilization, crop residues, animal manure, food and food processing waste, and wastewater and sewage sludge [1,2,4 5]. In addition to better economic and ecological management of P dispersion, which would conserve P resources, the P recovered from these waste streams or made available to plants in the soil represents an alternative to the use of P rock [6–8].…”