Hi !
I am researching several biological processes for organic (solid and liquid) residues treatment, including energy obtention (biodigestion). However, my biggest challenge is to clean/recover (for agriculture) the nutrients remnant in wastewater after secondary treatment. Therefore, inputs with heavy metals or toxic stuff cannot be used. Does anyone know what the most commonly used “organic” systems for such diluted nutrients are (specially P and N) ?.
See below links to a couple of relevant articles: https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/eces/26/2/article-p331.xml?language=en
Article Novel microbial nitrogen removal processes
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0958166912001152
Dear Alfredo,
I agree with Mahomet Njoya to apply advanced microbial nitrogen (N) removal via the nitrite shortcut by partial nitritation and anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) in a single reactor which we applied successfully at large scale since more than 25 years.
Phosphorus (P) as phosphate can be removed via absorption (luxury uptake) by phosphate accumulating organisms (PAO's). Ref. following review paper:Article A Review of Phosphorus Removal Technologies and Their Applic...
Dear Alfredo, it depends on what the origin of your substrate is. Is it municipal wastewater? Or agricultural/industrial biogas digestate? Or else?
Strongly agree with both Mahomet Njoya and Bruno Peeters in this regard.
Dear Bruno, Thank you very much for the answer !!
Dear Zeeshan, thank you too...good to find consensous among specialists
Dear Gabor, The system is thought to treat digestate from Organic Municipal Solid Waste (households and food related industries).
Dear Alfredo, that seems excellent!
- This review, published earlier this year on a tightly related subject might interest you: https://www.deswater.com/DWT_abstracts/vol_192/192_2020_424.pdf
- If you have the opportunity, I would suggest you to take a closer look at constructed wetlands. Some configurations are extremely promising for your purpose.
- The evergreen ;) method of using microalgae to consume eutrophicating nutrients, then recycling the biomass to the biogas digester, is also a good choice. One of the operational examples: Chapter Renewable Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg, Germany: Using the Internat...
- Presently we are working on a bio-electrochemically assisted biofilter for recovering plant nutrients and stable organic carbon from biogas digestates.
Dear Gabor,
Again thank you so much.
We work also with contructed wetlands and we foreseen great sinergies on the complementation of both technologies.
However, contructed wetlands seems to be good on removal of P and N, but most of it is by organic secuestration through the organic matter of the wetland itself. However, to recuperate the P and N is necesary to harvest the biomass of the wetland, or the detritus at the bottom...is not so easy way to get the nutrients in an format easy to the fertilizer industry. We tend to think that struvite precipitation as a chemical aditional process might improve the recuperation of N and P.
We´ll keep an eye on your sugestions.
Best regards!!
Dear Alfredo, struvite or ammon-phosphate precipitation is a smart and witty method of nutrient recovery, if the concentrations of NH4-N and PO4-P are stoichiometrically comparable in the digestate. (y) The only difficulty I heard about might be the operating pH.
welcome and good luck to you to know more information about your research Dear Alfredo Erlwein
Dear Gabor,
thank you. You are quite right...that´s why I am searching for other potential methods.
Dear Zeeshan, Thank you to you too.
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