Search results for "struvite"
showing 10 items of 21 documents
Sludge management modeling to enhance P-recovery as struvite in wastewater treatment plants
2017
[EN] Interest in phosphorus (P) recovery and reuse has increased in recent years as supplies of P are declining. After use, most of the P remains in wastewater, making Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) a vital part of P recycling. In this work, a new sludge management operation was studied by modeling in order to recover Pin the form of struvite and minimize operating problems due to uncontrolled P precipitation in WWTPs. During the study, intensive analytical campaigns were carried out on the water and sludge lines. The results identified the anaerobic digester as a "hot spot" of uncontrolled P precipitation (9.5 gP/kg sludge) and highlighted possible operating problems due to the accumu…
Sewage sludge management for phosphorus recovery as struvite in EBPR wastewater treatment plants
2008
The influence of separate and mixed thickening of primary and secondary sludge on struvite recovery was studied. Phosphorus precipitation in the digester was reduced from 13.7 g of phosphorus per kg of treated sludge in the separate thickening experiment to 5.9 in the mixed thickening experiment. This lessening of the uncontrolled precipitation means a reduction of the operational problems and enhances the phosphorus availability for its later crystallization. High phosphorus precipitation and recovery efficiencies were achieved in both crystallization experiments. However, mixed thickening configuration showed a lower percentage of phosphorus precipitated as struvite due to the presence of…
Struvite formation from the supernatants of an anaerobic digestion pilot plant
2009
This work studied the influence of the characteristics of the supernatants on the struvite precipitation process. Eighteen experiments with the supernatants generated in an anaerobic digestion pilot plant were performed in a stirred reactor. In order to obtain the pH control during the crystallization process, a Fuzzy Logic based controller was used. High phosphorus precipitation and recovery efficiencies were obtained. The composition of the supernatants was analyzed in order to study its influence on the solids formed from those solutions. The presence of calcium reduced the percentage of phosphorus precipitated as struvite leading to the formation of amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP), wh…
Optimisation of sludge line management to enhance phosphorus recovery in WWTP
2008
The management of the sludge treatment line can be optimized to reduce uncontrolled phosphorus precipitation in the anaerobic digester and to enhance phosphorus recovery in WWTP. In this paper, four operational strategies, which are based on the handling of the prefermented primary sludge and the secondary sludge from an EBPR process, have been tested in a pilot plant. The separated or mixed sludge thickening, the use of a stirred contact tank and the elutriation of the thickened sludge are the main strategies studied. Both the reduction of phosphorus precipitation in the digester and the supernatant suitability for a struvite crystallization process were assessed in each configuration. The…
Use of Calcined Dolomite as Chemical Precipitant in the Simultaneous Removal of Ammonium and Phosphate from Synthetic Wastewater and from Agricultura…
2019
Phosphorus as phosphate and nitrogen as ammonium or nitrate are the main nutrients in wastewaters and agricultural sludges. They runoff easily to waterways and cause eutrophication in water bodies. However, ammonium and phosphate could be precipitated simultaneously and used as recycled nutrients. In this research, dolomite calcined at 650 °
Struvite precipitation assessment in anaerobic digestion processes
2008
Struvite precipitation causes important operational problems during the sludge treatment process, especially when EBPR sludge is treated. Predicting struvite formation is critical to be able to design process alternative that best minimises struvite precipitation. With this aim, phosphorus precipitation in an anaerobic digestion pilot plant was studied using experimental data and mass balance analysis. The results obtained showed significant phosphorus precipitation as struvite (58% of the fixed phosphorus) and a low precipitation of calcium phosphates (15%), forming mainly hydroxyapatite (HAP). The rest of the phosphorus fixed in the digester (27%) was attributed to adsorption processes on…
Biological Nutrient Removal Model No. 2 (BNRM2): a general model for wastewater treatment plants
2013
This paper presents the plant-wide model Biological Nutrient Removal Model No. 2 (BNRM2). Since nitrite was not considered in the BNRM1, and this previous model also failed to accurately simulate the anaerobic digestion because precipitation processes were not considered, an extension of BNRM1 has been developed. This extension comprises all the components and processes required to simulate nitrogen removal via nitrite and the formation of the solids most likely to precipitate in anaerobic digesters. The solids considered in BNRM2 are: struvite, amorphous calcium phosphate, hidroxyapatite, newberite, vivianite, strengite, variscite, and calcium carbonate. With regard to nitrogen removal via…
Implementation of a global P-recovery system in urban wastewater treatment plants
2019
[EN] Current wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) paradigm is moving towards the so-called water resource recovery facilities in which sewage is considered a source of valuable resources. In particular, urban WWTPs are crucial systems to enhance phosphorus (P) recycling. This paper evaluates the implementation of a P-recovery system in Calahorra WWTP combining the operation of a new sludge line configuration coupled to a struvite crystallisation reactor at demonstration-scale. This new configuration consisted in the elutriation in the gravity thickener of the mixed sludge contained in the mixing chamber in order to reduce the phosphate load to the anaerobic digestion. The results indicated t…
Beneficiation, desilication and selective precipitation techniques for phosphorus refining from biomass derived fly ash
2018
The supply of affordable phosphorus (P), a biocritical element, is at great risk due to the utilization of limited natural phosphate minerals at an unprecedented scale. The need of phosphorus recovery to sustain the anthropogenic P-cycle was recog- nized and fly ash, a waste product from the combustion of renewable biofuels, was selected as the secondary resource. Increasing supply of fly ash in the future due to growing use of forest biofuels in energy production also contributes to its suitability for P-recovery. Fly ash comprises of silicates, oxides, carbonates, phosphates and hydroxides of the elements that potentially represent the entire periodic table. This only augments the complexity…
Precipitation of potassium as hazenite from washing water of spent alkaline batteries
2022
Hazenite (KNaMg2(PO4)2 × 14 H2O), a new type of struvite mineral, was precipitated from the potassium-rich washing water of spent alkaline battery black mass. Hazenite can be used as a fertilizer, which would be an additional benefit derived from the sustainable recovery of battery materials. Precipitation experiments were performed using different pH values (9.5–12), Mg:K:PO4 ratios ((1.0–1.5):1:(1.0–1.5)) and temperatures (10–40 °C). Based on the results, hazenite precipitated in a wide pH range under alkaline conditions. The precipitation kinetics were fast, and the purity of the hazenite was high. Overall, hazenite can be precipitated at room temperature without the addition of excess c…