Enhanced nitrogen and phosphorus recovery from wastewater

In wastewater treatment plants Nitrogen and Phosphorus must be biologically and/or chemically removed before the effluent is discharged in order to protect the aquatic environment from eutrophication phenomena. Part of the nutrients removed from the water, remain concentrated in the sewage sludge.Apart from this, the conventional treatment processes requires a huge amount of energy, which represents a negative impact on the environment.This practice proposes an efficient recovery of nitrogen and phosphorus contained in the wastewater as ammonium salts and struvite. P is a limited and non-renewable natural resource, and the existing reserves are concentrated outside Europe
The industrial production of N through the Haber- Bosch process has a very negative impact on the environment due to its huge energy consumption
The goal is to recover 40 % of the phosphorus as struvite and 15 % of the nitrogen as ammonium salts by membrane contactors. At the same time the OPEX costs of the WWTP will be decreased by 10 % and the reduction in 25 % of the N2O emissions. Part of the project will be to evaluate the agronomical properties of the obtained fertilizers for the target crop due to Phosphorus and Nitrogen are essential elements in the production of fertilizers for agriculture
It´s being developed by a life project (LIFE ENRICH).