Long-term operation of a pilot-scale reactor for phosphorus recovery as struvite from source-separated urine
Authors/Creators
- 1. Abengoa, Campus Palmas Altas, C/ Energía Solar 1, 41014 Seville, Spain and Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for SustainableWater Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
- 2. Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
- 3. Abengoa, Campus Palmas Altas, C/ Energía Solar 1, 41014 Seville, Spain
- 4. DeSaH B.V., Pieter Zeemanstraat 6, 8606 JR, Sneek, The Netherlands
- 5. Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands and Sub-Department of Environmental Technology, Wageningen University, BornseWeilanden 9, P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA,Wageningen, The Netherlands
Description
BACKGROUND: The treatment of source separated urine allows for a more sustainable approach to nutrients recovery in actual
wastewater treatment plants. Struvite precipitation from urine yields a slow-release fertilizer (struvite) with a high marketable
value for agricultural use. Extensive research on struvite precipitation has been carried out at laboratory scale, but there is still
a lack of specific knowledge about the operation and key parameters at larger scale and over the long term. The effectiveness
of the struvite reactor was assessed, as well as the quality of the harvested struvite in terms of size and composition.
RESULTS: The efficiency of recovery of P was maintained at 85–99% for 1 year of continuous operation. Phosphorus was
recovered in the form of struvite with purity over 90%. Struvite was harvested as round pellets between 0.3 and 6 mm in
diameter, with heavy metals concentration well below the legal limits for fertilizers in The Netherlands. The post-treatment of the
reactor effluent yielded almost complete removal (>95%) of calcium and magnesium. A loss of 26±5% of the influent chemical
oxygen demand and 16±1% of the NH4+-N occurred during the magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) precipitation and the
post-treatment.
CONCLUSION: This work shows how the treatment of source-separated urine by struvite precipitation in a fluidized bed reactor
allows for efficient recovery of phosphorus in the form of a potential fertilizer.
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