Phosphorous removal and recovery from urban wastewater: Current practices and new directions

Phosphate rocks are an irreplaceable resource to produce fertilizers, but their availability will not be enough to meet the increasing demands of agriculture for food production. At the same time, the accumulation of phosphorous discharged by municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is one of t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Science of the total environment 2022-06, Vol.823, p.153750-153750, Article 153750
Main Authors: Di Capua, Francesco, de Sario, Simona, Ferraro, Alberto, Petrella, Andrea, Race, Marco, Pirozzi, Francesco, Fratino, Umberto, Spasiano, Danilo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Phosphorus recovery
Phosphorus removal
Sewage sludge
Urban wastewater
WWTP
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Summary:Phosphate rocks are an irreplaceable resource to produce fertilizers, but their availability will not be enough to meet the increasing demands of agriculture for food production. At the same time, the accumulation of phosphorous discharged by municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is one of the main causes of eutrophication. In a perspective of circular economy, WWTPs play a key role in phosphorous management. Indeed, phosphorus removal and recovery from WWTPs can both reduce the occurrence of eutrophication and contribute to meeting the demand for phosphorus-based fertilizers. Phosphorous removal and recovery are interconnected phases in WWTP with the former generally involved in the mainstream treatment, while the latter on the side streams. Indeed, by reducing phosphorus concentration in the WWTP side streams, a further improvement of the overall phosphorus removal from the WWTP influent can be obtained. Many studies and patents have been recently focused on treatments and processes aimed at the removal and recovery of phosphorous from wastewater and sewage sludge. Notably, new advances on biological and material sciences are constantly put at the service of conventional or unconventional wastewater treatments to increase the phosphorous removal efficiency and/or reduce the treatment costs. Similarly, many studies have been devoted to the development of processes aimed at the recovery of phosphorus from wastewaters and sludge to produce fertilizers, and a wide range of recovery percentages is reported as a function of the different technologies applied (from 10–25% up to 70–90% of the phosphorous in the WWTP influent). In view of forthcoming and inevitable regulations on phosphorous removal and recovery from WWTP streams, this review summarizes the main recent advances in this field to provide the scientific and technical community with an updated and useful tool for choosing the best strategy to adopt during the design or upgrading of WWTPs. [Display omitted] •Past, present and future of P removal/recovery from urban wastewaters is discussed.•Biofilm technologies allowing combined P, C and N removal are trending in WWTP.•Microalgae may help improve efficiency and sustainability of bacterial P removal.•P recovery from sludge liquors is the most applied solution at full-scale.•P recovery from sludge ash is the best alternative based on cost and product safety.
ISSN:0048-9697
1879-1026
DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153750