Evaluation of local and national effects of recovering phosphorus at wastewater treatment plants: Lessons learned from the UK

Rosanna Kleemann, Jonathan Chenoweth, Roland Clift, Stephen Morse, Pete Pearce and Devendra Saroj

Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 2015, vol. 105, issue PB, 347-359

Abstract: P recovery from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) as struvite fertiliser is a recognised method of improving P use efficiency and reducing P losses into the environment. The main driver for P recovery from the water industry viewpoint is the reduction in the nuisance of struvite clogging inside pumps and pipes. Struvite recovery leads to an average P recovery rate of 72±7% from centrifuge centrate, with 8.8±0.7% total P and 20.5±3.2% PO4-P removed from the WWTP influent as struvite. This reduces the potential for struvite precipitation, moderates P loads on biological nutrient removal processes and lowers P concentration in the final effluent. Totalling revenue from sale of struvite and operational site savings, P recovery becomes an attractive option for water companies. The implementation of P recovery technologies to produce struvite fertiliser in all UK WWTPs could produce a national P fertiliser source of 7.05±2.01kt P/year. In addition, sludge produced at WWTPs could be diverted to advanced energy recovery (AER) processes and P recovered from AER residues; up to 21.71±0.95kt P/year could be recovered in this way in the UK. Combining the two methods of P recovery, UK imports of P fertiliser could be reduced by 36.2±1.1%. P recovery on a large scale has the further benefit of protecting against eutrophication by reducing P emissions to water bodies by 21.7±1.9%. The protection of the environment and reduction in reliance on imported P are major national motivations to legislate P recovery from waste.

Keywords: Phosphorus recovery; Phosphorus efficiency; Struvite; Wastewater treatment plants (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:recore:v:105:y:2015:i:pb:p:347-359

DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.09.007

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