EU project about phosphate recycling and re-use.

1. Quantity, Quality and Market aspects of
potential P recycling routes in Europe
Christian Kabbe
Berlin Centre of Competence for Water
Wageningen, 6th February 2013
PHOSPHORUSRECYCLING
FROMPROTOTYPETOMARKET
www.p-rex.eu

2. Phosphorus – bottleneck of life
www.p-rex.eu
Limited availability Strategic resource
„We may be able to substitute
nuclear power for coal,
and plastics for wood,
and yeast for meat,
and friendliness for isolation
– but for phosphorus there is neither substitute nor replacement“.
- Isaac Asimov (1920 bis 1992) –
First published 1959 (Life‘s bottleneck)

3. - Wastewater/sewage sludge
- Biowaste
- Manure
- Meat and bone meal
The traditional, closed anthropogenic P cycle
www.p-rex.eu
Once upon a time, there was an unbroken circle …
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/phosphate-
recovery/ceep11.htm
Soil <-> life balance …

4. The modern anthropogenic P „cycle“
www.p-rex.eu
Disruption of P cycle:
Urbanization
Industrialisation
Globalisation
Problems:
- Discoupling of food production and consumption
- Pollutants/contamination
- Inefficient use
Challenges for the future:
- Increasing P demand
- Decreasing quality of fossil P rock
- Limited availability
- Separation of nutrients from
pollutants for recycling
Need of mineral fertilizer
to compensate losses!
EU needs to import 975,000 t of mineral P!!!
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-
curation/research/projects/
phosphate-recovery/ceep11.htm

5. Building Bridges!
EU FP7 Project
Sustainable sewage sludge management
fostering phosphorus recovery and energy
efficiency
PHOSPHORUSRECYCLING
FROMPROTOTYPETOMARKET
www.p-rex.eu

6. Closing the loop, but where and how?
www.p-rex.eu
amended from: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/phosphate-recovery/ceep11.htm
210 Mt P rock
(global mining
2012, USGS
2013)
90%
10%

7. Germany‘s National P Reserves
www.p-rex.eu
Waste stream
Quantity of waste
stream
P-Reserve
(theoretical)
Compared to
Pmineral imported
~ 120.000 t/a
wastewater
(municipal)
~ 9,4 billion m³/a ~ 75.000 t P/a ~ 63 %
sewage sludge
(dry matter)
~ 2 million t/a ~ 67.500 t P/a ~ 57 %
meat & bone meal ~ 180.000 t/a ~ 10.800 t P/a ~ 9 %
animal excreta
manure: ~ 190 Mio m3/a
~ 240.000 t P/a
Completely but not
efficiently used!
solids: ?
6% of German cropland (12 million acres) short of P, whereas NS
and NRW have surplus sufficient for 1 million acres from manure (Römer et. al. 2013)
(Different sources DESTATIS)

8. ,0
200000,0
400000,0
600000,0
800000,0
1000000,0
1200000,0
1400000,0
1600000,0
1800000,0
2000000,0
2200000,0
1998 2001 2004 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
sewagesludgeinmetrictonsdrymatter
thermal agriculture landscaping landfill other interim storage
Sewage sludge routes in Germany
www.p-rex.eu
(DESTATIS 2012)
55%
3%
13%
29%
Obviously: insufficient reuse of P

9. Sewage sludge routes in Europe 2010
www.p-rex.eu
(DESTATIS 2012)
Obviously: insufficient reuse of P
0
250000
500000
750000
1000000
1250000
1500000
1750000
2000000
AT BE BG CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GR HU IE IT LT LU LV MT NL PL PT RO SE SI SK UK CH
other
landfill
application to land
incineration
Drymatterinmetrictons
European total quantity: ~ 11 million tons sludge (dry matter)

10. WATERLOOP – Trinity of P Recycling
www.p-rex.eu
Food
Humans
Wastewater
WWTP
Agriculture
Sewage sludgeDirectapplication
onarableland
Precoveryfrom
aqueousphase(MAP)
Precoveryfrom
incinerationash
EU: 11 million tons of sludge dry matter/a
~ 350,000 t P/a
P
Global P recycling from wastewater:
End of 20th century only 30%!
(Liu et al. 2008)

11. Hot spots for P recovery in WWTP
www.p-rex.eu
(amended from Montag 2010)

12. Some P recovery processes in Europe
www.p-rex.eu
PEARL
MAP FULL
Ash
Sludge
Sludge Liquor
LEACHPHOS
P-mineral DEMO
Thermal
Leaching
P-bac (INOCRE)
MAP
PHOSTRIP
MAP, CaP DEMO
P-RoC
CaP/CSH DEMO
PASCH
CaP
MEPHREC
P-slag DEMO
SEPHOS
AlP
LYSOGEST
MAP Full
Electrochemical
MAP, CaP
PRISA
MAP
Gifhorn
MAP, CaP DEMO
AirPrex
MAP FULL
NuReSys
MAP FULL
Stuttgart
MAP DEMO
THERMPHOS
P4 FULL
AshDec (SUSAN)
P-mineral DEMO
RECOPHOS D
P-mineral DEMO
SESAL-PHOS
CaP
KREPRO
FeP FULL
Budenheim
CaP DEMO
RECOPHOS AT
H3PO4 DEMO
Crystalactor
MAP, CaP FULL
Aqua Reci
H3PO4
?
FIX-PHOS
CaP/CSH DEMO
PHOXNAN
H3PO4
REPHOS
MAP Full
Wet Oxidation
With Leaching
Low Chemicals
Demand

13. P recovery units - sludge
www.p-rex.eu
Process Operator/location Scale Output Contact
P recovery from sludge
AirPrex
Waßmannsdorf (DE)
BWB
full MAP
Berliner Pflanze
BWB
Dr. B. Heinzmann
AirPrex
MG-Neuwerk (DE)
Niersverband
full MAP
P.C.S.
W. Ewert
AirPrex
BS-Steinhof (DE)
SE|BS / AVB
full
MAP/
Sludge
P.C.S.
W. Ewert
AirPrex Wieden-Echten (NL) full MAP
P.C.S.
W. Ewert
AirPrex
Amsterdam (NL)
planned
full MAP
P.C.S.
W. Ewert
CRYSTALACTOR Geestmerambacht (NL) full Ca-P
DHV
A. Giesen
Gifhorn process
Gifhorn (DE)
ASG
full MAP
PFI
Prof. J. Müller-
Schaper
Fix-Phos
Hildesheim (DE)
SEHi
full
Ca-P/
Sludge
TU DA
Dr. C. Schaum
Stuttgart process Offenburg (DE) pilot MAP
IAT
Mr. Meier
Budenheim process
Mainz (DE)
planned
pilot Ca-P
Budenheim
Dr. R. Schnee

14. P recovery units – process water
www.p-rex.eu
Process Operator/location Scale Output Contact
P recovery from sludge liquor / process water
REPHOS
Altentreptow (DE)
Remondis Aqua
full MAP
Remondis Dr. M.
Lebek
LYSOGEST
Lingen (DE)
SE Lingen
full MAP
P.C.S.
W. Ewert
PEARL
(PEARL 500)
Slough (UK)
Thames Water
full
MAP
Crystal Green™
OSTARA
Jim Hotchkies
NuReSys
(prototype)
Dairy processing (BE) full
MAP
BIOSTRU
NuReSys
Dr. Wim Noerman
NuReSys Potato processing (BE) full
MAP
BIOSTRU
NuReSys
Dr. Wim Noerman
P-RoC Neuburg (DE) pilot Ca-P at CSH
KIT CMM
Dr. R. Schuhmann
PHOSTRIP
Brussels-North (BE)
Aquiris (Veolia Eau)
pilot MAP or Ca-P Veolia Eau

15. Process Operator/location Scale Output Contact
P recovery during or after incineration
MEPHREC
Nürnberg (DE)
SUN
full P-fertilizer
Ingitec
J. Mallon
SUSAN
Koenigs Wusterhausen
(DE)
RETERRA
full P fertilizer
Outotec
L. Hermann
Thermphos Vlissingen (NL) full White P4
Thermphos
Willem Schipper
LeachPhos
MSWI plant of Bern
(CH)
pilot
MAP or
CaP
BSH
S. Schlumberger
RECOPHOS ?(DE) full P fertilizer
RecoPhos
Mr. Bohndick
? Tangermünde (DE) full P fertilizer
Loser Chemie
Mr. Loser
P recovery units – during or after incineration
www.p-rex.eu
Undiluted incineration -> ash
Highest recovery potential (> 90% P compared to influent)
WhataboutAquafinandEcoPhos?

16. P recovery - feasibility
www.p-rex.eu
dry matter
content after
deatering
cost Fe-salt
disposal cost
sludge
opex Air-
Prex
RockAway total cost
TR (%) €/a €/a €/a €/a €/a
Fe-salt 20 g/m³
Influent ß= 1,3
29 503.953 2.585.480 0 0 3.089.433
Bio-P with
RockAway
20 0 3.176.366 0 150.000 3.326.366
Bio-P with
AirPrex
25 0 2.537.942 314.153 0 2.852.095
Benefits due to AirPrex unit:
- Reduced maintenance (no more clogged pipes), centrifuges run smoother
- Improved dewaterability of sludge (+ ~5% dry matter ) -> reduction of disposal costs
- Reduced chemicals consumption
- Annual cost reduction: 474,000 €
The practical example of WWTP Neuwerk (Niersverband):
(Niersverband, Bäckler 2012)

17. P recovery – next generation
www.p-rex.eu
WAS
Thickening
6-7% DS
Thermal Hydrolysis
Lysotherm®
(150°C, 30 Min.)
Struvit pecipitation and recycling
LysoPhos©- Process
+ Mg(OH)2 + NH4
Sludge dewatering
Sludge water to
bio- treatment
(P- reduced)
Struvit washer
prim. sludge
digestion
WAS digestion
Primary sludge only
Lysotherm® - LysoPhos® = LysoGest®
optimized energy and phosphate process by separate sludge treatment

18. How to increase P-recovery rate from wastewater?
www.p-rex.eu
 Demonstration and systematic validation of technical processes at
full-scale facilities
 Systematic assessment and validation of the quality of obtained
recycling products with regards to plant availability of phosphorus
 Analysis of market barriers and market potential for novel recycling
technology and recycling products
 Development of strategies and recommendations for efficient and
wide-spread phosphorus recovery and market penetration from the
wastewater stream with regards to specific regional conditions ->
policy brief, guidance document
Project Goals
 EU-wide implementation of P recovery/recycling from wastewater stream
with respect to regional conditions and demands

19. Key deliverables
www.p-rex.eu
 Integral guidance document and policy brief
 Technical comparison of promising, available P-recovery/recycling technologies based
on real life data (including detailed factsheets for every process, BAT)
 Environmental impact and costs of compared technologies in relation to traditional
valorization of sewage sludge and mineral fertilizers based on fossil P rock
 Agreed methodologies for LCA and LCC to be used for other projects/assessment
studies
 Stakeholder workshops (market survey and regional conditions) -> broad base input
 Educative film and summer school
 Project website and e-market for P-recycling products
(BWB) (BWB)

20. P recoveredP recovered
 Feasibility of joint application wastewater / manure? Infratructure?
 What are the real market requirements besides the legal requirements (base line)?
Market issues and synergies
www.p-rex.eu
P recovered
LEGAL framework
Nutrient concentration
Pollutants
Plant availability
Eco-toxicity
Hygiene
Market framework
Price
Purity (MAP?)
Quantity
Shape
Handling
Operational benefits?
Consumer concerns?

21. Example: AirPrex® Berlin-Wassmannsdorf
www.p-rex.eu
 MAP ~ 60-70%
 Moisture: 10%
 Sand and organic matter: 10%
 Approved fertilizer “Berliner Pflanze”
 Sales price depends on package size:
 The smaller the higher … (2.50€/kg)
 Challenge and potential: improvement
of yield and quality
Raw product composition

22. Outlook
www.p-rex.eu
 Struvite recovery is state of the art for P recovery/recycling (limited to Bio-P plants
and recovery max 50%)
-> already a growing market in terms of process technology, esp. when additinal
benefits for operator
-> still need to develop market for products (MAP, HAP etc.)
several thousand tons per year within the next 2 years
-> REACH!!!
-> whereas legal requirements are quite clear, the real end user needs are still
hidden
 If recovery >80% -> mono-incineration incl. ash treatment to obtain marketable and
useful products
 Infrastructure or technology applicable for manure?
-> what‘s better: separation and concentration of nutrients in solid phase and
then treatment of aqueous phase (or irrigation?)
-> or treatment of the manure in WWTP?

23. The Metropolitan Case Study
www.p-rex.eu
WASTE/
WASTEWATER
P-RECYCLING
PRODUCT
AGRICULTURE
FOOD

24. Outlook
www.p-rex.eu
 Still need to involve all stakeholders on equal eye level -> more efficient
collaboration, more impact -> that‘s ressource efficiency by means!
Science Policy Industry
Policy
Science
Science
Industry
Industry
Policy
YES, TOGETHER
WE CAN !!!
I f w e w a n t t o ! ! !
P Platform

25. Thank you for your kind attention!
Christian.Kabbe@kompetenz-wasser.de
www.kompetenz-wasser.de
See you there:
EU Sustainable P Conference
in Brussels 6-7th March 2013
Global TraPs World Conference
in Beijing 18-21th June 2013
PHOSPHORUSRECYCLING
FROMPROTOTYPETOMARKET
www.p-rex.eu