Effects of three kinds of organic acids on phosphorus recovery by magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) crystallization from synthetic swine wastewater

A review of struvite crystallization for nutrient source recovery from wastewater

Nutrient recovery from wastewater not only reduces the nutrient load on water resources but also alleviates the environmental problems in aquatic ecosystems, which is a solution to achieve a sustainable society. Besides, struvite crystallization technology is considered a potential nutrient recovery technology because the precipitate obtained can be reused as a slow-release fertilizer. This review presents the basic properties of struvite and the theory of the basic crystallization process. In addition, the possible influencing variables of the struvite crystallization process on the recovery efficiency and product purity are also examined in detail. Then, the advanced auxiliary technologies for facilitating the struvite crystallization process are systematically discussed. Moreover, the economic and environmental benefits of the struvite crystallization process for nutrient recovery are introduced. Finally, the shortcomings and inadequacies of struvite crystallization technology are presented, and future research prospects are provided. This work serves as the foundation for the future use of struvite crystallization technology to recover nutrients in response to the increasingly serious environmental problems and resource depletion.

Phosphorus recovery from aqueous product of hydrothermal carbonization of cow manure

The work studies the recovery of nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) from the process water of acid-assisted hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of cow manure. Three organic acids (formic acid, oxalic acid, and citric acid) and sulfuric acid were evaluated as additives in HTC. Using 0.3 M sulfuric acid, more than 99% of phosphorus and 15.6% of nitrogen from manure are extracted and dissolved during HTC at 170 °C with 10 min reaction time in a batch reactor. Nutrients (mainly phosphorus) were recovered through precipitation from process water by raising the ionic strength of the solution by addition of salts of magnesium and ammonia, and by raising the pH to 9.5. Subsequently, phosphorus-rich solids were recovered containing almost all (greater than 95%) of the dissolved phosphorus in the sulfuric and formic acid assisted runs. Morphology and qualitative chemical analysis of the precipitates were determined. It is shown by XRD that the precipitate formed from process water generated by HTC with oxalic acid is crystalline, although the diffraction pattern could not be matched with any expected substance.

Comparison of phosphorus species in livestock manure and digestate by different detection techniques

Phosphorus (P) species characterize the effectiveness of the P fertilizer. In this study, the P species and distribution in different manures (pig manure, dairy manure and chicken manure) and their digestate were systematically investigated through combined characterization methods of Hedley fractionation (H₂OP, NaHCO₃-P, NaOH-P, HCl-P, and Residual), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. The results from Hedley fractionation showed that >80 % of P in the digestate was inorganic and the HCl-P content in manure increased significantly during anaerobic digestion (AD). XRD manifested that insoluble hydroxyapatite and struvite belonging to HCl-P were presented during AD, which was in agreement with the result of Hedley fractionation. ³¹P NMR spectral analysis revealed that some orthophosphate monoesters were hydrolyzed during AD, meanwhile the orthophosphate diester organic phosphorus like DNA and phospholipids content has increased. After characterizing P species by combining these methods, it was found that chemical sequential extraction could be an effective way to fully understand the P in livestock manure and digestate, with other methods used as auxiliary tool depending on the purpose of studies. Meanwhile, this study provided a basic knowledge of utilizing digestate as P fertilizer and minimizing the risk of P loss from livestock manure. Overall, applying digestates can minimize the risk of P loss from directly applied livestock manure while satisfying plant demands, and is an environmentally friendly P fertilizer.

Recovery of phosphorus from wastewater containing humic substances through vivianite crystallization: Interaction and mechanism analysis

Vivianite crystallization has been regarded as a suitable option for recovering phosphorus (P) from P-containing wastewater. However, the presence of humic substances (HS) would inevitably affect the formation of vivianite crystals. Therefore, the influences of HS on vivianite crystallization and the changes in the harvested vivianite crystals were investigated in this study. The results suggested the inhibition effect of 70 mg/L HS on vivianite crystallization reached 12.24%, while it could be attenuated by increasing the pH and Fe/P ratio of the solution. Meanwhile, the addition of HS altered the size, purity, and morphology of recovered vivianite crystals due to the blockage of the growth sites on the crystal surface. Additionally, the formation of phosphate ester group, hydrogen bonding, and COOH-Fe²⁺ complexes are the potential mechanisms of HS interaction with vivianite crystals. The results obtained herein will help to elucidate the underlying mechanism of HS on vivianite crystallization from P-containing wastewater.

Production of Nano Hydroxyapatite and Mg-Whitlockite from Biowaste-Derived products via Continuous Flow Hydrothermal Synthesis: A Step towards Circular Economy

Biowastes from agriculture, sewage, household wastes, and industries comprise promising resources to produce biomaterials while reducing adverse environmental effects. This study focused on utilising waste-derived materials (i.e., eggshells as a calcium source, struvite as a phosphate source, and CH₃COOH as dissolution media) to produce value-added products (i.e., calcium phosphates (CaPs) derived from biomaterials) using a continuous flow hydrothermal synthesis route. The prepared materials were characterised via XRD, FEG-SEM, EDX, FTIR, and TEM analysis. Magnesium whitlockite (Mg-WH) and hydroxyapatite (HA) were produced by single-phase or biphasic CaPs by reacting struvite with either calcium nitrate tetrahydrate or an eggshell solution at 200 °C and 350 °C. Rhombohedral-shaped Mg-WH (23-720 nm) along with tube (50-290 nm diameter, 20-71 nm thickness) and/or ellipsoidal morphologies of HA (273-522 nm width) were observed at 350 °C using HNO₃ or CH₃COOH to prepare the eggshell and struvite solutions, and NH₄OH was used as the pH buffer. The Ca/P (atomic%) ratios obtained ranged between 1.3 and 1.7, indicating the formation of Mg-WH and HA. This study showed that eggshells and struvite usage, along with CH₃COOH, are promising resources as potential sustainable precursors and dissolution media, respectively, to produce CaPs with varying morphologies.

Biochar-seeded struvite precipitation for simultaneous nutrient recovery and chemical oxygen demand removal in leachate: From laboratory to pilot scale

Refuse transfer station (RTS) leachate treatment call for efficient methods to increase nutrient recovery (NH4+−N and PO43−−P) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal. In this study, the effects of various operational factors (seeding dose, pH, initial NH4+-N concentration, and reaction time) on biochar-seeded struvite precipitation were investigated at laboratory and pilot scales. Mealworm frass biochar (MFB) and corn stover biochar (CSB) were used as seeding materials to compare with traditional seed struvite. The maximum NH4+−N and PO43−−P recover efficiency of the MFB-seeded process reached 85.4 and 97.5%, higher than non-seeded (78.5 and 88.0%) and CSB-seeded (80.5 and 92.0%) processes and close to the struvite-seeded (84.5 and 95.1%) process. The MFB-seeded process also exhibited higher COD removal capacity (46.4%) compared to CSB-seeded (35.9%) and struvite-seeded (31.2%) processes and increased the average particle size of the struvite product from 33.7 to 70.2 μm for better sustained release. XRD, FT-IR, and SEM confirmed the orthorhombic crystal structure with organic matter attached to the struvite product. A pilot-scale test was further carried out in a custom-designed stirred tank reactor (20 L). In the pilot-scale test, the MFB-seeded process still spectacularly recovered 77.9% of NH4+−N and 96.1% of PO43−−P with 42.1% COD removal, which was slightly lower than the laboratory test due to insufficient and uniform agitation. On the whole, MFB-seeded struvite precipitation is considered to be a promising pretreatment method for rural RTS leachate.

Effect of biofilm colonization on Pb(II) adsorption onto poly(butylene succinate) microplastic during its biodegradation

Few studies have mentioned the enrichment of heavy metal pollutants on microplastics derived from degradable plastics. This study investigated the adsorption behavior of Pb(II) onto biodegradable poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) microplastics during its biodegradation. The results indicated that Pb(II) adsorbed by biofilm-colonized biodegraded-PBS microplastics (B-PBS) was about 10-folds higher than that of virgin PBS (647.09 μg·g^-1 versus 64.13 μg·g^-1) due to the biofilm colonization and the degradation of PBS. After removing the biofilm, the biodegraded PBS still had high Pb(II) adsorption capacity, which was attributed to the complexation of Pb(II) and the stably adhered extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Pb(II) adsorption onto both virgin PBS and B-PBS was highly pH-dependent, its adsorption on virgin PBS was dominated by electrostatic interaction, while as for B-PBS, the adsorption mechanisms mainly involved the coordination/complexation of Pb(II) and the EPS components on the colonized biofilm, surface complexation, and electrostatic interaction. This study suggested that the enrichment of heavy metal pollutants onto the biodegradable microplastics may pose risks to the aquatic ecosystem.

Simultaneous enhancing phosphorus recovery and volatile fatty acids production during anaerobic fermentation of sewage sludge with peroxydisulfate pre-oxidation

Phosphorus release and sludge hydrolysis are the keys for phosphorus and carbon recovery from sewage sludge via anaerobic process. In this study, iron-rich sludge (a common phosphorus-rich sewage sludge) was pre-oxidized by heat-activated peroxydisulfate (PDS) to enhance volatile fatty acids (VFAs) production and iron-bound phosphorus (Fe-P) release during anaerobic fermentation (AF). With low-dosage PDS pre-oxidation (33.75 mg/g total solids), the concentration of recoverable phosphorus increased by 49.3% than that noted in control along with enhanced VFAs production after 4 days. This is mainly because PDS oxidation not only effectively disintegrated sludge, but also generated sulfate simultaneously. Sludge disintegration enhanced organic matter hydrolysis, promoting VFAs yield, while sulfate was reduced to sulfide during AF and precipitated with iron, leading to Fe-P release. The application of PDS pre-oxidation on iron-rich sludge could not only improve the resourcefulness of sludge but also reduce secondary pollution (sulfate or hydrogen sulfide).

Effects of Physicochemical Parameters on Struvite Crystallization Based on Kinetics

The precipitation of struvite (MgNH₄PO₄·6H₂O) is considered to be a promising method for the recovery of phosphate from wastewater. In this review, the kinetic models, which are commonly used to explain the process of struvite crystallization, are described. The mixed-suspension mixed-product removal (MSMPR) model is based on the population balance equation (the size-dependent growth model and the size-independent growth model). Thereafter, the first-order kinetic fitting model that aligned with concentration changes in the substrate is summarized. Finally, the several physical and chemical factors that affected the efficiency of struvite crystallization are determined. The supersaturation ratio, which is seen as the driving force of struvite crystallization, is the main factor that influences crystallization; however, it cannot be used in practical applications of engineering because it is indirectly associated with the following factors: pH, the molar ratio of Mg:N:P, and the interference of foreign impurities. In this study, we present conclusions that should be used to guide further research studies, and encourage the engineering practice of wastewater treatment with struvite precipitation.

Effect of acetic acid on struvite precipitation: An exploration of product purity, morphology and reaction kinetics using central composite design

Phosphorus recovery has attracted increasing interest due to the potential depletion of phosphorus resources. One promising solution is to recover phosphorus via struvite precipitation from wastewater or other waste that is in rich of phosphate. However, product quality control during such process is always challenging due to the variation and complexity of wastewater compositions. For example, subcritical wet oxidation (SCWO) effluent is rich in phosphorus and nitrogen but contains a large amount of acetic acid, while its effect on struvite recovery is hardly known. Therefore, central composite design (CCD), considering pH, acetic acid level, Mg level and Ca level, was used to evaluate the effect of acetic acid on struvite purity, phosphorus removal, morphology and reaction kinetics. The experimental data were statistically analysed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and principal components analysis (PCA). The results indicate that pH and Mg level have a significant impact on phosphorus removal (pH: p-value < 0.0001, Mg: p-value < 0.0001) and struvite purity (pH: p-value = 0.0410, Mg: p-value < 0.0001), Ca level only affects the struvite purity (p-value = 0.0333). The presence of acetic acid, within the studied range (8.77-34.53 mM), has a negligible effect on struvite morphology, phosphorus removal and reaction kinetics, but a slightly positive effect on struvite purity. Findings of this research would be beneficial to determine the feasibility of acetic acid-rich wastewater as a phosphorus source for struvite recovery.

Effect of Organic Substances on Nutrients Recovery by Struvite Electrochemical Precipitation from Synthetic Anaerobically Treated Swine Wastewater

Anaerobically treated swine wastewater contains large amounts of orthophosphate phosphorus, ammonium nitrogen and organic substances with potential nutrients recovery via struvite electrochemical precipitation post-treatment. Lab-scale batch experiments were systematically conducted in this study to investigate the effects of initial pH, current density, organic substances upon nutrients removal, and precipitates quality (characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and element analysis via acid dissolution method) during the struvite electrochemical precipitation process. The optimal conditions for the initial pH of 7.0 and current density of 4 mA/cm² favoured nutrients removal and precipitates quality (struvite purity of up to 94.2%) in the absence of organic substances. By contrast, a more adverse effect on nutrients removal, morphology and purity of precipitates was found by humic acid than by sodium alginate and bovine albumin in the individual presence of organic substances. Low concentration combination of bovine albumin, sodium alginate, and humic acid showed antagonistic inhibition effects, whereas a high concentration combination showed the accelerating inhibition effects. Initial pH adjustment from 7 to 8 could effectively mitigate the adverse effects on struvite electrochemical precipitation under high concentration combined with organic substances (500 mg/L bovine albumin, 500 mg/L sodium alginate, and 1500 mg/L humic acid); this may help improve struvite electrochemical precipitation technology in practical application for nutrients recovery from anaerobically treated swine wastewater.

Electrolysis-enhanced ecological floating bed and its factors influencing nitrogen and phosphorus removal in simulated hyper-eutrophic water

To enhance ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and phosphate (PO43--P) removal in hyper-eutrophic water, electrolysis-enhanced ecological floating bed (EEEFB) was designed with a Mg-Al alloy anode, a Ir-Ta-Ti metal oxide-coated titanium anode, and an Fe anode with the same graphite cathode. The results showed that the Mg-Al alloy anode with graphite cathode had a better ability to enhance NH3-N and PO43--P removal. When the current density was 0.37 mA·cm-2, the electrolysis time was 24 h/d, and the net removal rates of NH3-N and PO43--P were 62% and 99.4%, respectively. In winter, the purification efficiencies of NH3-N and PO43--P were as high as 7388.4 mg·m-2 and 4297.5 mg·m-2, respectively, by EEEFBs which were significantly higher than the traditional ecological floating bed (p < 0.05). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray spectrometry confirmed that the PO43--P was deposited in the sediment of EEEFBs with Mg-Al alloy anode and Fe anode.

New insights into interactions of organic substances in poultry slurry with struvite formation: An overestimated concern?

The high content of organic substances in strength agro-industrial wastewater has been documented to be among the major barriers hampering nutrient recovery efficiency of struvite precipitation. However, our results in this study show that the previously reported negative impacts of organic substances in high-strength agricultural wastewater on struvite precipitation might be overestimated. This study is the first to test the influence of three forms of organic substances from real high-strength wastewater that contains a complex of particulate, colloidal and soluble organic substances, on nutrient recovery efficiency and product quality through struvite precipitation at varying pH conditions. Our results demonstrated that the inhibition of organic substances on struvite formation only happens at the pH levels of <9.0 with recovery reduction of PO₄^3- (5-15%) and NH₄⁺ (6-13%). The inhibitory effect of the organic substances at the optimal pH range (9.5-10) reported from the literature review is only ≤5%. Moreover, the transformation in the contents of humic- and protein-like substances with an increment in pH was characterized and may contribute to mitigate the inhibition of nutrient recovery. Even though the particulate and colloidal organic substances slowed the precipitation reaction, they substantially increased the particle size (i.e., 70% and 40%, respectively) of the formed struvite. The presence of organic substances in all tested forms does not significantly influence the purity and crystalline structure of struvite which can still be used as a slow-releasing fertilizer. Regarding the relocation process of organic substances during struvite precipitation under varying pH conditions, understanding the interaction between organics and heavy metals which in turn affect the dynamics of heavy metals in solution and precipitates remains limited; thus, additional research is needed.

New progress of ammonia recovery during ammonia nitrogen removal from various wastewaters

The recovery of ammonia-nitrogen during wastewater treatment and water purification is increasingly critical in energy and economic development. The concentration of ammonia-nitrogen in wastewater is different depending on the type of wastewater, making it challenging to select ammonia-nitrogen recovery technology. Meanwhile, the conventional nitrogen removal method wastes ammonia-nitrogen resources. Based on the circular economy, this review comprehensively introduces the characteristics of several main ammonia-nitrogen source wastewater plants and their respective challenges in treatment, including municipal wastewater, industrial wastewater, livestock and poultry wastewater and landfill leachate. Furthermore, we introduce the main methods currently adopted in the ammonia-nitrogen removal process of wastewater from physical (air stripping, ion exchange and adsorption, membrane and capacitive deionization), chemical (chlorination, struvite precipitation, electrochemical oxidation and photocatalysis) and biological (classical and typical activated sludge, novel methods based on activated sludge, microalgae and photosynthetic bacteria) classification based on the ammonia recovery concept. We discuss the applicable methods of recovering ammonia nitrogen in several main wastewater plants. Finally, we prospect the research direction of ammonia removal and recovery in wastewater based on sustainable development.

Effects of individual volatile fatty acids (VFAs) on phosphorus recovery by magnesium ammonium phosphate

Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are a major component of dissolved organic matter in alkaline fermentation supernatants. In this study, effects of different VFAs (acetate, propionate, and butyrate) on phosphorus recovery, as magnesium ammonium phosphate (MgNH₄PO₄·6H₂O, or MAP), were studied. Results showed that optimal pH was 9.5 and MAP purity was ∼70% in VFA-free wastewater. With VFA addition, MAP purities of precipitates were higher, reaching 75%-85%. The crystalline characterization of precipitates suggested that VFAs had a weak complexation ability with Mg²⁺ and NH₄⁺. Further, pH changes during the MAP crystallization process were monitored and results indicated VFAs only contributed to the alkalinity condition, which, in turn, improved the MAP crystallization process. These data provide for a better understanding of P recovery by MAP precipitates from VFA-rich fermented supernatants.

Kinetics and morphological characteristics of struvite (MgNH4PO4.6H2O) under the influence of maleic acid

This work reports a stirred-batch lab crystallization to examine the influence of maleic acid (HO₂CCHCHCO₂H), and temperatures (30 and 40 °C) on crystallization kinetics and morphology of struvite. The crystallization was followed by measuring the pH change up to 70 min. The pH decreased drastically for the first 5 min of the run, then started to tail off. It was found that the crystallization rate constants range from 1.608 to 6.534 per hour, which agrees with the most published value. Higher maleic acid concentrations resulted in greater growth retardation; the highest retardation was 74.21%, which was achieved for 30 °C with 20.00 ppm maleic acid. SEM imaging of the obtained precipitates showed irregular prismatic morphology, and the associated EDX confirmed that the precipitates were struvite (MgNH₄PO₄⋅6H₂O). As checked through XRD, the crystalline nature of the struvite was further confirmed, and that co-precipitation of struvite with struvite-K was observed. The co-precipitation was the result of K⁺ adsorption onto the crystal surface. Temperatures had less influence on struvite crystallization. At 40^oC and 20.00 ppm the rate constant was 1.332 per hour; whereas at 30^oC and 0.00 ppm) the corresponding was 1.776 per hour, indicating the retardation of about 25%. Thus, the temperature effect is only 1/3 of the maleic acid effect. The current findings suggest that the presence of maleic acid can be used to elucidate the mechanism of crystallization as well as the crystalline phase transformation of struvite. In practical terms, maleic acid could be potential as a scale inhibitor.

Alkaline fermentation promotes organics and phosphorus recovery from polyaluminum chloride-enhanced primary sedimentation sludge

In this study, alkaline fermentation was applied to promote organics and P recovery from polyaluminum chloride (PACl)-enhanced primary sedimentation sludge. Coagulant results demonstrated that the optimum PACl dosage of 100 mg/L resulted in the effective concentration of 73% of organic matter and 90% of P from wastewater into sludge. Batch fermentation results highlighted the ability of alkaline fermentation in improving the biodegradability of PACl sludge. More specifically, at pH 11, 43.3% of soluble organics and 36.49% of P were released to the fermentation supernatant. Furthermore, P fractionation fermented sludge results revealed that partial Al-P dissolution and organic phosphorus hydrolysis were the main drivers of the released P. Finally, at pH 11, 85% of P was recovered as magnesium ammonium phosphate from the fermentation supernatant at the 2:1 Mg/P molar ratio. In conclusion, 24.9% of organics and 27.9% of P from raw wastewater were converted to valuable products via alkaline fermentation.

Phosphorus recovery through struvite crystallisation: Recent developments in the understanding of operational factors

Phosphorus is an essential element for life and is predicted to deplete within the next 100 years. Struvite crystallization is a potential phosphorus recovery technique to mitigate this problem by producing a slow release fertilizer. However, complex wastewater composition and a large number of process variables result in process uncertainties, making the process difficult to predict and control. This paper reviews the research progress on struvite crystallization fundamentals to address this challenge. The influence of manipulated variables (e.g. seed material, magnesium dosage and pH) and sources of variation on phosphorus removal efficiency (e.g. organics and heavy metal concentration) and product purity were investigated. Recently developed models to describe, control and optimize those variables were also discussed. This review helps to identify potential challenges in different wastewater streams and provide valuable information for future phosphorus recovery unit design. It therefore paves the way for commercialization of struvite crystallization in the future.

Development of a closed-loop process for fusel alcohol production and nutrient recycling from microalgae biomass

Improving the economic feasibility is necessary for algae-based processes to achieve commercial scales for biofuels and bioproducts production. A closed-loop system for fusel alcohol production from microalgae biomass with integrated nutrient recycling was developed, which enables the reuse of nitrogen and phosphorus for downstream application and thus reduces the operational requirement for external major nutrients. Mixed fusel alcohols, primarily isobutanol and isopentanol were produced from Microchloropsis salina hydrolysates by an engineered E. coli co-culture. During the process, cellular nitrogen from microalgae biomass was converted into ammonium, whereas cellular phosphorus was liberated by an osmotic shock treatment. The formation of struvite from the liberated ammonium and phosphate, and the subsequent utilization of struvite to support M. salina cultivation was demonstrated. The closed loop system established here should help overcome one of the identified economic barriers to scale-up of microalgae production, and enhance the sustainability of microalgae-based chemical commodities production.

Application of MgO-modified palygorskite for nutrient recovery from swine wastewater: effect of pH, ions, and organic acids

In this study, MgO-modified palygorskite (MgO-PAL) was used for simultaneous recovery of ammonia nitrogen (AN) and phosphate, and the effects of pH, ions, and organic acids on nutrient recovery were investigated. The highest removal amount of AN and phosphate separately reached 42.6 mg/g and 69.8 mg/g at pH of 9.0, 0.6 g/L dosage of modified palygorskite, and 180 min of the reaction time. MgO-PAL provided a wide range of pH (3-9) for nutrient removal. Mg released concentration was tested to investigate the removal mechanisms. The individual presence of four cations (K⁺, Ca²⁺, Na⁺, and Mg²⁺) showed negative effect on AN removal at different mass concentrations. However, those cations, except Na⁺, exhibited positive influence on phosphate removal. Compared with SO₄^2-, CO₃^2-showed more negative effect on nutrient removal due to the reaction between Mg²⁺ and CO₃^2-. The results showed that the nutrient removal amount and the morphology and composition of collected products were not affected in the presence of acetic acid. Citric acid, humic acid, and fulvic acid displayed the inhibition effects on the morphology of the crystallized products.

Techno-economic feasibility of recovering phosphorus, nitrogen and water from dilute human urine via forward osmosis

Due to high phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) content, human urine has often proven to suitable raw material for fertiliser production. However, most of the urine diverting toilets or male urinals dilute the urine 2 to 10 times. This decreases the efficiency in the precipitation of P and stripping of N. In this work, a commercial fertiliser blend was used as forward osmosis (FO) draw solution (DS) to concentrate real diluted urine. During the concentration, the urea in the urine is recovered as it diffuses to the fertiliser. Additionally, the combination of concentrate PO₄^3-, reverse Mg²⁺ flux from the DS and the Mg²⁺ presents in the flushing water, was able to recover the PO₄^3- as struvite. With 50% concentrated urine, 93% P recovery was achieved without the addition of an external Mg²⁺. Concurrently, 50% of the N was recovered in the diluted fertiliser DS. An economic analysis was performed to understand the feasibility of this process. It was found that the revenue from the produced fertilisers could potentially offset the operational and capital costs of the system. Additionally, if the reduction in the downstream nutrients load is accounted for, the total revenue of the process would be over 5.3 times of the associated costs.

Influence of process parameters on the heavy metal (Zn2+, Cu2+ and Cr3+) content of struvite obtained from synthetic swine wastewater

Struvite recovered from swine wastewater can be used as a good slow release fertilizer. Nevertheless, the presence of heavy metals would be easily precipitated with struvite and increase the ecological risk for its agricultural use. This paper investigated the possibility of using process variables for heavy metal (Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Cr³⁺) minimization during struvite crystallization in swine wastewater. The heavy metal content, effect ratios (ER) of the citric acid concentration under varying conditions were tested and their SEM, EDS and XRD patterns were compared for morphology analysis. The results show that an increase in pH decreased the content of Cu, Zn and Cr in recovered precipitates. Heavy metal content in the precipitates increased markedly with their initial concentrations in the solution. The effect ratio calculation indicates that Cr has the strongest co-precipitation potential, followed by Zn and Cu. An increase in citric acid concentration reduced the heavy metal removal efficiency (14.3, 27.7 and 28.1% for Cu, Zn and Cr, respectively) but did not decrease their content in struvite precipitates. What is more, increase of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) to soluble phosphate molar ratio significantly decreased Cu, Zn removal efficiency (52.2 and 50% respectively), while Mg:PO₄P molar ratio had much less effect.

Effects of Commonly Occurring Metal Ions on Hydroxyapatite Crystallization for Phosphorus Recovery from Wastewater

Hydroxyapatite crystallization for phosphorus recovery and removal from wastewater has attracted considerable attention for its potential economic and environmental benefits because hydroxyapatite can used as an effective compound fertilizer containing phosphorus (P) for industrial and agricultural applications. As hydroxyapatite is obtained through precipitation and crystallization from wastewater, it is important to evaluate the roles of metal ions commonly found in wastewater during the hydroxyapatite crystallization process. Batch crystallization experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of Mg2+, Fe3+, Cu2+, and Zn2+ on P removal efficiency, and crystallized products were characterized using scanning electron microscopy as well as energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The presence of Mg2+ improved the phosphorus removal rate, but hydroxyapatite crystalline purity was reduced due to the co-precipitation of struvite and hydroxyapatite. Fe3+ and Cu2+ did not significantly affect the crystalline structure of hydroxyapatite because the two metal ions easily formed hydroxyl metal compounds with low solubility in alkaline solution, which is rarely involved directly in the hydroxyapatite crystallization process. There was strong background interference from Zn2+ on the hydroxyapatite X-ray diffraction spectra, indicating that the crystallized products comprised a mixture of several amorphous substances. A comprehensive understanding of the effects of metal ions on hydroxyapatite crystallization will help improve the quality of hydroxyapatite products recovered from wastewater.

Nutrient recovery from anaerobically digested chicken slurry via struvite: Performance optimization and interactions with heavy metals and pathogens

The aim of this study was to assess the potential of struvite precipitation to recover nutrients from anaerobically-processed poultry slurry and struvite's interactions with heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, and Ni) and pathogens (total coliforms and Escherichia coli). The impacts of pH, Mg, N, and P molar proportion, reaction time, and mixing rate and duration were explored to determine the optimal conditions for nutrient recovery through struvite precipitation. A pH range of 9.5 to 10.5, was ideal for P and N removal and recovery, with a molar ratio of 1:1:1 for Mg:N:P. A mixing rate of 150rpm for 10min could allow nutrient recovery with little loss (3.32%) of NH₃ through volatilization, and also achieve an optimal struvite crystal size (50-60μm). The results of X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the precipitates generated at pH9 and 10 were orthorhombic struvite. Moreover, along with the recovery of nutrients, 40, 45, 66, 30, and 20% of Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, and Ni, respectively, and 70% total coliforms and E. coli were removed by struvite precipitation from poultry slurry. This was observed despite that the levels of contaminants (heavy metals) detected in struvite were well below the permissible limits and free of pathogens. Consequently, it was inferred that the struvite quality was reasonable by virtue of its heavy metal and pathogen content, and therefore appropriate for application in the field. Similarly, struvite precipitation has multiple benefits as it can effectively recover nutrients as well as reducing pathogenic populations.

Understanding the growth of the bio-struvite production Brevibacterium antiquum in sludge liquors

Biological struvite (bio-struvite) production through biomineralization has been suggested as an alternative to chemically derived struvite production to recover phosphorus from wastewater streams. In this study, statistical experimental design techniques were used to find the optimal growth rate (μ) of Brevibacterium antiquum in sludge liquors. Acetate, oleic acid, NaCl, NH₄-N, and Ca₂₊ were shown to affect the growth rate of B. antiquum. The growth rate reached 3.44 1/d when the bacteria were supplemented with 3.0% w/v NaCl and 1124 mg chemical oxygen demand/L as acetate. However, NaCl was found to hinder the biomineralization of bio-struvite. A two-stage experiment demonstrated that bio-struvite was produced in the presence of acetate. Bio-struvite production was confirmed with X-ray spectroscopy and crystal morphology (prismatic, tabular, and twinned crystal habit) through electron microscope analysis. The bio-struvite production was estimated by measuring phosphate content of the recovered precipitates, reaching 9.6 mg P/L as bio-struvite. Overall, these results demonstrated the optimal conditions required to achieve high growth rates as well as bio-struvite production with B. antiquum. The results obtained in this study could be used to develop a process to grow B. antiquum in wastewater streams in mixed cultures and recover phosphorus-rich products such as struvite.

Functional graphene oxide membrane preparation for organics/inorganic salts mixture separation aiming at advanced treatment of refractory wastewater

Some refractory organic matters or soluble microbial products remained in the effluents of refractory organic wastewater after biological secondary treatment and need an advanced treatment before final disposal. Graphene oxide (GO) was known to have potential to be the next generation membrane material. The functional organics/inorganic salts separation GO membrane preparation and application in wastewater advanced treatment could reduce energy or chemicals consumption and avoid organics/inorganic salts mixed concentrate waste problems after nanofiltration or reverse osmosis. In this study, we developed a novelty GO membrane aiming at advanced purification of organic matters in the secondary effluents of refractory organic wastewater and avoiding the organics/inorganic salts mixed concentrate waste problem. The influence of preparation conditions including pore size of support membrane, the number of GO layers and the applied pressure was investigated. It was found that for organics/inorganic salts mixture separation membrane preparation, the rejection and flux would achieve balance for the support membrane at a pore size of ~0.1μm and the number of GO layers of has an optimization value (~10 layers). A higher assemble pressure (~10bar) contributed to the acquisition of a higher rejection efficiency and lower roughness membrane. This as prepared GO membrane was applied to practical secondary effluent of a chemical synthesis pharmaceuticals wastewater. A good organic matter rejection efficiency (76%) and limited salt separation (<14%) was finally obtained. These results can promote the practical application of GO membrane and the resourcelized treatment of industrial wastewater.

Mimicking and Inhibiting Urea Hydrolysis in Nonwater Urinals

Nonwater urinals are critical in the implementation of building-scale water conservation and urine diversion systems. However, because of the composition of urine and the prevalence of the urease enzyme that hydrolyzes urea, minerals readily precipitate in nonwater urinals and pipes. This leads to clogging, malodor, and possible replacement of nonwater urinals with flush urinals. Accordingly, the goal of this research was to provide an improved understanding of the urea hydrolysis process in nonwater urinals to benefit water conservation and phosphate recovery efforts. Acetic acid addition was used in nonwater urinals to inhibit the urea hydrolysis reaction by lowering the pH, thereby making the precipitation of calcium- and magnesium-containing minerals less favorable. Of the acids tested, 2.5 mL of 2500 mequiv/L acetic acid added after every urination event was able to inhibit urea hydrolysis in synthetic urine and real urine as indicated by the pH and conductivity of the effluent urine. Acid addition also allowed for 43% more phosphate recovery via struvite precipitation in the acetic acid addition synthetic urine than the synthetic urine with no acid addition.

Inhibition of ammonia on anaerobic digestion of synthetic coal gasification wastewater and recovery using struvite precipitation

Coal gasification wastewater (CGW) contains very high concentrations of phenols and ammonia. However, the potential impact of ammonia on the anaerobic digestion of phenols remained unclear. Firstly, the methanogens and phenols degraders had a good tolerance up to 1gL^-1 of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), but the substrate utilization rate for phenol, and specific methanogenic activity of sludge were decreased by 89% and 67% at 5g TAN L^-1, and 94% and 100% at 10g TAN L^-1, respectively. Secondly, the optimum struvite crystallization conditions (pH=8.5, 10g TAN L^-1, n(Mg²⁺):n(TAN):n(PO₄^3-)=1:1:1) were obtained by the orthogonal tests. Thirdly, the removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and phenols were recovered to around 82% and 66%, respectively in the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor using the pretreatment of struvite precipitation at 10g TAN L^-1 and 1g phenols L^-1. Therefore, anaerobic digestion coupled with struvite precipitation was considered as an alternative way for CGW treatment.

Recovery of phosphorus from synthetic wastewaters by struvite crystallization in a fluidized-bed reactor: Effects of pH, phosphate concentration and coexisting ions

The crystallization of struvite in fluidized-bed crystallizer (FBC) was performed to treat synthetic wastewaters that contain phosphorous. Under optimal conditions (pH 9.5, molar ratio Mg/N/P = 1.3/4/1, struvite seed dose (53-297 μm) = 30 g L^-1, total flow rate = 12 ml min^-1, reflux = 120 ml min^-1), the removal of phosphate (PR) and the crystallization ratio (CR) were 95.8% and 93.5%, respectively. Based on a thermodynamic prediction, the supersaturation, which was obtained from the difference between the theoretical solubility and phosphate concentration, predominated the crystallization efficiency and the properties of the struvite pellets, such as their morphology, particle size and apparent density. Coexisting ions NO₃^- (80, 160 ppm), CH₂COOH^- (260, 520 ppm), F^- (650, 1300 ppm) and SO₄^2- (650, 1300 ppm), were utilized to prepare P-containing wastewaters. Of these ions, SO₄^2- (1300 ppm) remarkably reduced the capability of FBC to remove phosphate from solution. In the presence of NO₃^- and CH₃COO^- (for synthesizing TFT-LCD wastewater), and F^- and SO₄^2- (for synthesizing semiconductor wastewater), CR% was lower than in pure water, although the ultimate PR% did not differ significantly.

Nutrient sequestration from wastewater by using zeolite Na-P1 synthesized from coal fly ash

The objective of this study is to investigate the cation exchange property of the product zeolite Na-P1 (Z-P1) synthesized from coal fly ash (FA) by the alkali hydrothermal reaction, and to evaluate the water purification ability for the simultaneous removal of ammonium and phosphate. High-purity Z-P1 was obtained by optimizing the reaction conditions of aging time and crystallization temperature, and using FA particles of uniform particle size. Kinetic ammonium sorption experiments with Z-P1 were well described by both the Langmuir and Freundlich models, and the maximum adsorption capacity of the Z-P1 was 23.15 mg/g. Moreover, in order to determine the effect of magnesium intervention on the ammonium and phosphate removal from simulated swine wastewater, two forms of magnesium were studied, that is Mg-saturated Z-P1 and direct use of Mg²⁺ source with Z-P1, as compared with the control (sole Z-P1). Results showed that Mg²⁺ addition could improve phosphate removal efficiency significantly by forming struvite. Furthermore, dosing Z-P1 with dissolved Mg²⁺ was better than Mg-saturated Z-P1 in terms of ammonium and phosphate removal efficiencies, and the preparation cost. When dosing 20 g/L Z-P1 with 4 mM Mg²⁺, ammonium and phosphate removal efficiencies reached 65.2% and 92.3% after 30 min.

Precipitation of organic arsenic compounds and their degradation products during struvite formation

Roxarsone (ROX) and arsanilic acid (ASA) have been extensively used as organoarsenic animal feed additives. Organic arsenic compounds and their degradation products, arsenate (As(V)) and arsenite (As(III)), exist in the effluent from anaerobic reactors treating animal manure contaminated by ROX or ASA with ammonium (NH4(+)-N) and phosphate (PO4(3-)-P) together. Therefore, arsenic species in the effluent might be involved in the struvite formation process. In this study, the involvement of organic arsenic compounds and their degradation products As(V) and As(III) in the struvite crystallization was investigated. The results demonstrated that arsenic compounds did not substantially affect the PO4(3-)-P recovery, but confirmed the precipitation of arsenic during struvite formation. The precipitation of arsenic compounds in struvite was considerably affected by a solution pH from 9.0 to 11.0. With an increase in pH, the content of ASA and ROX in the precipitation decreased, but the contents of As(III) and As(V) increased. In addition, the arsenic content of As(V) in the struvite was higher than that of As(III), ASA and ROX. The results indicated that the struvite could be contaminated when the solution contains arsenic species, but that could be minimized by controlling the solution pH and maintaining anaerobic conditions during struvite formation.

Role of phase transformation of barium perborates in the effective removal of boron from aqueous solution via chemical oxo-precipitation

This work developed a chemical oxo-precipitation (COP) process for the removal of boron from aqueous solution.

Effect of organic matter on phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge subjected to microwave hybrid pretreatment

Microwave (MW) hybrid processes are able to disrupt the flocculent structure of complex waste activated sludge, and help promote the recovery of phosphorus as struvite. In this study, to optimize struvite yield, (1) the characteristics of matter released in MW-hybrid treatments were compared, including MW, MW-acid, MW-alkali, MW-H2O2, and MW-H2O2-alkali. The results showed that selective release of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, Ca(2+), and Mg(2+) achieved by sludge pretreatment using MW-hybrid processes. MW-H2O2 is the recommended sludge pretreatment process for phosphorus recovery in the form of struvite. The ratio of Mg(2+):NH4(+)-N:PO4(3-)-P was 1.2:2.9:1 in the supernatant. (2) To clarify the effects of organic matter on struvite recovery, the composition and molecular weight distribution of organic matters were analyzed. Low molecular weight COD was found to facilitate the removal rate of NH4(+)-N and PO4(3)-P via crystallization, and the amorphous struvite crystals (<1kDa) from the filtered solutions had high purity. Therefore, the present study reveals the necessity of taking into consideration the interference effect of high molecular weight organic matters during struvite crystallization from sewage sludge.

Struvite-based phosphorus recovery from the concentrated bioeffluent by using HFO nanocomposite adsorption: Effect of solution chemistry

Here we reported struvite-based phosphorous recovery from the concentrated desorption effluent of a proprietary hydrated ferric oxide (HFO) nanocomposite (HFO-201) system, and the effect of solution chemistry (alkalinity, salinity, and dissolved organic matter (DOM)) on struvite formation was particularly focused on. The optimum P recovery rate (∼97%) and high quality struvite was obtained at 25°C, pH 9.0-9.5, and the molar Mg:NH4:P ratio of 1.4:4:1. The reaction reached equilibrium within ∼30min, much faster than the reported high purity struvite formation at neutral pH (several days required). It largely relied on the absence of Ca(2+) in the desorption effluent due to the Donnon co-ion effect exerted by HFO-201. Thermodynamic modelling with Stockholm humic model revealed that the presence of salinity and DOM resulted in a lower saturation index (SI) of struvite, thus inhibiting P recovery by struvite. Nevertheless, it is favorable to form struvite of large particle size. In addition, increasing the molar Mg:NH4:P ratio from 1:1:1 to 1.4:4:1 could significantly weaken the adverse effect of the high salinity and DOM. Direct addition of Ca(2+) could also result in phosphorous recovery, but the P content of the resultant solid (∼4.4%) is much lower than the formed struvite (∼17%). The results indicated that struvite process is a very attractive option to recover P from the desorption effluent, and the effect of solution chemistry is crucial to optimize the process.

Chlorination decomposition of struvite and recycling of its product for the removal of ammonium-nitrogen from landfill leachate

Struvite (MgNH4PO4⋅6H2O) precipitation is a promising method for ammonium (NH4(+)) removal from the wastewater. However, the high cost incurred with the use of magnesium and phosphate sources hinders the successful application of this method. This paper presents a novel recycling technology of struvite that is based on the chlorination decomposition of struvite. The study results indicated that struvite can be effectively decomposed by sodium hypochlorite and that the solid/liquid ratio of struvite in solution did not affect the ammonium-nitrogen (NH4-N) decomposition efficiency of struvite. Through the analysis of the reaction process, the mechanism of struvite decomposition was proposed to be simultaneous dissolution and oxidation of struvite, and the main component of the decomposition product generated was determined to be newberyite, dissolved HPO4(2-) and Mg(2+), and magnesium phosphate. When the decomposition product was recycled, its pH had to be adjusted for high NH4-N removal. NH4-N of 92% could be removed from landfill leachate when the decomposition product solution pH before recycling was adjusted to 3 and the precipitation pH was maintained at 9. A five-cycle recycling process showed that recycling of struvite chlorination decomposition product was a highly efficient and sustainable method for the removal of NH4-N. An economic evaluation showed that the use of recycled struvite for the five-process cycles by the proposed process could save the cost of chemicals by approximately 34% as compared to the use of pure chemicals.