In this session - slides seminar will Pär Larshans CSO, Ragnsells share the Why we need to recover and recycle phosphorus, and how it will help with safer food production and cleaner oceans, please share. See live presentation here, start Why to Act for the Climate and now, we have the technology! (Time in video 30.51 - 53.58 min) http://bit.ly/ragnsellslivenewyork

1. Pär Larshans, Chief Sustainability Office, Ragnsells Group
par.larshans@ragnsells.com
Sustainable Phosphorus Management
New York - Nordic Innovation House July 18, 2018 Live broadcast http://bit.ly/ragnsellslivenewyork

2. Phosphorus
Phosphorus is an element essential to life
• Phosphorus is an important component in RNA and DNA and is
necessary for all living cells
• Bones and teeth consist of calcium phosphate
• Phosphorus is a constituent of the ATP-molecule, which plays a
central role in energy management in all living cells
• Phosphorus is a constituent of the cell membrane
(phospholipids)
• Regulation of pH in cells is based on phosphorus
chemistry

3. 3
Global production
170 million ton rock phosphate
(apatite) year -1
International Fertilizer Association
– Statistics 2007
Mining of rock phosphate and the cadmium and
uranium issue
Cd and U content
There is a continuous decrease in world rock phosphate quality
Rock phosphate can contain up to 640 mg Cd kg-1 P and up to
1.3 g U kg-1 P
British Sulphur (1998) Phosphorus & Potassium, 217
Alloway & Steinnes (1999) Cadmium in Soils and Plants. Development in Plant and Soil Sciences 85, 110 –
113 Guzman et al. (1995) Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 189, 2, 301-306

4. Fosfor en begränsad resurs
Phosphorus reserves and cadmium content
< 10 mg Cd kg-1 P
10 -50 mg Cd kg-1 P
>50 mg Cd kg-1 P

5. Col 2
Col 2
Fördelningen av världens brytbara fosforreserver (%)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Brazil
Russia
South Africa
Jordan
Syria
China
Tunesia
Israel
Egypt
USA
Other countries
Morocco and Western Sahara
<10 mg Cd kg-1 P
10-50 mg Cd kg-1 P
>50 mg Cd kg-1 P
Mineable phosphate rock and cadmium content
Estimates on mineable amounts taken from US Geological Survey (USGS, 2011) and on
cadmium contents from McLaughlin et al. (1996).
Mineable phosphate rock in relation to world reserves (%)

6. U3O8 (ppm)
Min Max
Algeria 110 140
Brasil 50 250
Egypt 70 140
Jordan 50 150
Morocco 90 160
Senegal 120 180
Syria 60 160
Togo 80 100
Tunis 30 150
US 20 300
Uranium content in rock phosphate
Chaker, 2009
85 to 90% of the uranium in rock phosphate ends up in fertilizers

7. Resumé
• Phosphate rock is a non-renewable resource.
Recycling of phosphorus is necessary within
foreseeable future
• Cadmium and uranium -depleted P reserves are
very limited
• Cadmium and uranium must be separated from
fertilizers in order to not enrich agricultural land

8. © Ragn-Sells AB

9. © Ragn-Sells AB
Only about 27% of the 84 billion tons of resources entering the global
economy today can be considered renewable.
WirtschaftsUniversity:materialflows.net
Healthcare
Food
Housing
Energy
TRENDS IN RESOURCES AND ECONOMY SINCE 1980

10. © Ragn-Sells AB
ELEMENTS IN DATACHIPS VS TIME
Source: Schulz, K.J., DeYoung, J.H., Jr., Bradley, D.C., and Seal, R.R., II, 2017, Critical mineral
resources of the United States—An introduction, chap. A of Schulz, K.J., DeYoung, J.H., Jr., Seal,
R.R., II, and Bradley, D.C., eds., Critical mineral resources of the United States—Economic and
environmental geology and prospects for future supply: U.S. Geological Survey Professional
Paper 1802, p. A1–A14, https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1802A.
From 12 to +45 in two decades!

11. © Ragn-Sells AB
▪Huge improvement of life quality
for billions of people.
▪Increasingly complex products
(elements and compounds)
▪Realization of how hazardous
some substances are over time
▪Our ecosystem capacity is
increasingly limited
HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENTS

12. © Ragn-Sells AB

13. © Ragn-Sells AB
EVERYTHING IS RELATED TO EVERYTHING…
Källa: Le Blanc, D., 2015. Towards Integration at Last? The sustainable
Development Goals as a Network of Targets. Sutaian. Dev., 187, 176-187

14. © Ragn-Sells AB
THE 2º- GOAL REQUIRES A TOUGH CO2 BUDGET
AND A NEW GLOBAL ENERGY SYSTEM
Source: https://www.mcc-berlin.net/en/research/co2-budget.html
Fridal, M. 2017, FORES

15. © Ragn-Sells AB
BUT WILL A NEW ENERGY SYSTEM BE ENOUGH?

16. © Ragn-Sells AB
BUT WILL A NEW ENERGY SYSTEM BE ENOUGH?
Year 2011 2014 2017
No. of
CRM:s
14 20 27

17. © Ragn-Sells AB
ORE GRADES ARE FALLING OVER TIME…
Källa: Sverdrup, U. et al. 2016, On the integrated climate impact of resources and energy extractiion and use in society, Berlin 8 nov 2016, https://
www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/conference-decarbonisation-ressource-efficiency-0

18. © Ragn-Sells AB
ENERGY NEED VS GRADE ORE – REAL DATA
Guimar Calvo, Galvin Mudd, Alicia Valrto & Antonio Valero (2016), Decreasing Ore Grades in
Metallic Mining A Theroretical Issue or a Global Reality, Resources 2016,5, 36.

19. © Ragn-Sells AB
CHANGE OF ENERGY SYSTEM DRIVES NEED FOR NEW
RESOURCES!
Källa: Sverdrup, U. et al. 2016, On the integrated climate impact of resources and energy extractiion and use in
society, Berlin 8 nov 2016, https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/conference-decarbonisation-ressource-efficiency-0

20. © Ragn-Sells AB
TRUE RECYCLING IS NEEDED TO MAKE IT!

21. © Ragn-Sells AB
TRUE RECYCLING
De facto replace
virgin resources Decontaminate
circular flows
No debts or hindrances
pushed to future
generations

22. sewage sludge
N&Precoveryfrom
aqueousphase
Precoveryfromsolid
phase/ashes
Challenge: Enabling techn. alternatives to complement /compensate traditional route!
Pillars of Nutrient Recovery & Recycling
food
us
sewage
WWTP
fertiliser / agriculture
Dewateredsludge/
„Biosolids“
nutrients
~38% ~62%
© 2018 Isle Utilities. All Rights ReservedAlmedalsveckan 4 July 2018, Visby, Sweden, presented by C. Kabbe m
ainly
untapped
potential
Concerns
Hygiene
Contaminants
Uncertainties
Monitoring Cost
Surplus manure
Heterogenity
Acceptance

23. Germany 2017+: a template to adapt, but not just to copy as
is
▪ 2017 – new fertilising ordinance (DÜV) limits nutrient loads applied to
land and acutely reduces sludge disposal capacities -> cost explosion!
▪ 2017 – new fertiliser ordinance (DÜMV) sets stricter quality criteria (less
sludge is catching up)
▪ 2017 – new sewage sludge ordinance (AbfKlärV) enters into force
• 2023 – all WWTP have to submit sludge management concepts considering P
recovery
• 2029 – P recovery oblig. for all WWTP above 100,000 p.e. (ban from land application)
• 2032 – P recovery oblig. for all WWTP > 50,000 p.e.
o Even smaller WWTP have to recover P, if no land application possible
o On-site WWTP: P recovery to deplete below 20 g P/kg DM or at least by 50%
o After thermal-pretreatment recoverable separate storage of ash/concentrate or
recovery process with >80% recovery rate
What is missing?
o No marketable recycling concepts included
o No measure to secure proper ash quality (all sludge can be inc. in mono-inc.)
o Reverence value for P should refer to mineral sludge phase, not to DM
o Who pays for what? (Inc. and recovery from ash monopoly?)
Sludge mono-incineration is favoured and will double in coming years!
Sludge disposal cost have already been doubled regionally last year!
© 2018 Isle Utilities. All Rights ReservedAlmedalsveckan 4 July 2018, Visby, Sweden, presented by C. Kabbe

24. Hotspots for P recovery & Recycling for WWTP > 50.000
p.e.
primary
clarification
secondary
clarification
influent effluent
grit chamber aeration
biogas
anaerobic
digestion
dewatering
incineration
agriculture
2b
2a 3
1
process water
waste activated sludge
thickening
Integrated in WWTP
Site by Site
Downstream WWTP
Clusters
2c
P re-dissolving pre-treatment
© 2018 Isle Utilities. All Rights Reserved
2029/32+
▪Land appl. prohibited
▪Co-incineration only
for sludge with < 2%P
▪Mono-incineration allowed
without restriction, but P
recovery from ash
afterwards required
Priority for utilities:
▪Long term disposal security
▪Cost control
▪Lowest financial risk
Limited!
P depletion below 2% P
in sludge required or at
least 50% extraction to
allow co-incineration
Mono-incineration ->
Main route!
-80% P recov.
minimum
Prohibited!
Almedalsveckan 4 July 2018, Visby, Sweden, presented by C. Kabbe

25. Germany 2017+ substantial increase of mono-incineration
▪ Currently appr. 665 kt DS mono-incineration capacity 2017
(municipal sludge)
▪ After 2029/32 at least 1.200.000 Mg DS capacity needed
to comply with sludge reg (Ecoprog 2017) … likely more
(1.400.000 MG DS)
▪ Most new capacities between 2022 and 2027 (already
+480 kt DS in prep. announced)
-> future SSA quantity > 500.000 Mg/a (>45.000 Mg P/a)
© Outotec
© 2018 Isle Utilities. All Rights ReservedAlmedalsveckan 4 July 2018, Visby, Sweden, presented by C. Kabbe

26. Challenges and keys to Success and
Sustainability?
Only technologies, yielding homogenous products or raw materials, independent
from input material quality and mutually meeting both criteria, energy and resource
efficiency will have a chance for wide-spread application under sustainability aspects.
Keys:
✓Heavy metal depletion (high quality products)
✓Moderate energy (and chemicals) consumption (cost)
✓Market for “known” recovered P (commercial products) (real value and price)
© Kabbe 2017
© 2018 Isle Utilities. All Rights ReservedAlmedalsveckan 4 July 2018, Visby, Sweden, presented by C. Kabbe

27. The solution:
Ash2Phos, Clean commercial phosphorus products from sludge ash
Process characteristics
•Clean well known phosphorus products (Cd< 1 mg/kg P)
•Input chemicals become part of products
•Products effective in their applications
•Simple and robust process
•Low energy consumption
•Can use waste acid
•Recovery of iron and aluminium separately
Products from the process
•Phosphorus 95% recovery
– Calcium phosphate (feed phosphates)
– Superphosphates
– Ammonium phosphate (fertilizer)
•Precipitation chemicals (iron chloride & aluminum sulfate)
•Heavy metal (disposal)
•Undissolved ash

28. Kiruna - Europes largest phosphorus reserve?
LKAB is annually producing a waste sand containing approx. 70 000 tons of phosphor and 3 000 ton rare earth metals
Foto:LKAB

29. EasyMining
Apatite
MAP
ammoniumfosfat
Flotation of apatite from wastesand
Extraction of phosphorus and REE
REE-concentrate
Mining waste to MAP, two fundamental process steps
REE

30. © Ragn-Sells AB
Pär Larshans, Chief Sustainability Office, Ragnsells Group
par.larshans@ragnsells.com