European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform (ESPP) www.phosphorusplatform.eu Sustainable management of nutrients is crucial for agriculture, food, industry, water and the environment. ESPP brings together companies and stakeholders to address the Phosphorus Challenge and its opportunities for the circular economy. Countries: Austria AT Belgium BE Bulgaria BG Cyprus CY Czech Republic CZ Germany DE Denmark DK Estonia EE Spain ES Finland FI France FR Greece EL Hungary HU Ireland IE Italy IT Lithuania LT Luxembourg LU Latvia LV Malta MT Netherlands NL Poland PL Portugal PT Romania RO Sweden SE Slovenia SI Slovakia SK United Kingdom UK Switzerland CH Phosphorus: Fosfor Fosfor Fòsfòr Фосфор Fosfor Фосфор Fosfor Fosfor Фосфор Фосфор Fosforas Fosfors Fuosfuors Fosfor Ffуsfforws Fosfar Fosfaras Fosfaar Fosforus Φωσφορος Ֆոսֆոր Fosfor Fosfor Фосфор Фосфор ফসফরাস فسفر ફૉસ્ફરસનો फास्फोरस Fosfor Fosfori Foszfor Фосфор Фосфор Паликандур Fosfor Fosfor Фосфор Фосфор Фосфор Фосфор Fosfor فوسفور Fosfor Fosforoa ფოსფორი [fūsfūr] זרחן Fosfru Lìn リン 인 ฟอสฟอรัส Photpho 磷 Posporo Fosfor Pūtūtae-whetū Fosforus ഫോസ്ഫറസ് பொஸ்பரசு Fosofo Fosforase Posfori Fósforo Phusphuru Fosforimi Fosforo Fosforon Pesticium

1. NSSR Paris 7/10/2016 - 1
www.phosphorusplatform.eu
Status of struvite production and regulation in Europe
Chris Thornton - European Sustainable Phosphorous Platform
• info@phosphorusplatform.eu
• www.phosphorusplatform.eu @phosphorusfacts

2. NSSR Paris 7/10/2016 - 2
www.phosphorusplatform.eu
Phosphorus recovery as struvite
• Mature technology
• Recovers phosphorus P
(and some nitrogen N) from solution
 as struvite
 requires liquor rich in soluble P
• Struvite = magnesium ammonium phosphate
 can be used directly as a fertiliser
 or blended with N, K, micro-nutrients
for specific crops
 or processed (micro-granulation)
for specific delivery to plant
Unitika, Japan, 1990s

3. NSSR Paris 7/10/2016 - 3
www.phosphorusplatform.eu
Drivers
• Prevent nuisance deposits, abrasion
• Improves sludge dewatering
• Improves biological P-removal
(avoid return of P from dewatering)
• Sale as fertiliser
 Waternet Amsterdam: 900 t struvite/y = 400 K€ savings*
 Thames Water UK: 150 t struvite = 200 KUK£/y savings, 37 K£/y struvite sales*
 Berlin Wasser = 720 t struvite/y = 300 K€/y savings
 Severn Trent UK = 165 KUK£/y savings
 Aurhus – Suez– operating savings = c. 2x struvite sales income. ROI = 6 years
(* in SCOPE Newsletters n°99, 101, 115, 121 on www.phosphorusplatform.eu )
Severn Trent Water

4. NSSR Paris 7/10/2016 - 4
www.phosphorusplatform.eu
Value as fertiliser
• Not water soluble
• Releases nutrients as plants need them
• Does not burn roots
• Over 50 published pot trials, field tests, with different crops
show fertiliser effectiveness*
• TIMAC (NL)* develops as ultra-localised maize starter fertiliser
• Relatively small production tonnages and green image: often
niche marketing, e.g. sports fields, municipal parks …
(* in SCOPE Newsletters n°43, 121 on www.phosphorusplatform.eu )

5. NSSR Paris 7/10/2016 - 5
www.phosphorusplatform.eu
State of implementation
• Municipal waste water
- only from sewage works
operating biological P-removal
with anaerobic sludge digestion (tendency : ↑)
- c. 15 plants operational or under construction
• Food industry - several plants
• Animal manure
- technically feasible, several R&D pilots
- to date farmers not willing to pay for manure treatment
- pressure to respect regulations : ↑
NuReSys: struvite from
potato processing, dairy food industry,
pharmaceuticals industry (since 2006)

6. NSSR Paris 7/10/2016 - 6
www.phosphorusplatform.eu
Aquafin Leuven BE, Braunschweig D NuReSys
Berliner Wasserbetriebe D, Neuwerk D, Echten NL,Amsterdam
WEST NL, Uelzen D, Salzgitter D, Wolfsburg D
Airprex
Thames Water Slough GB,Amersfoort NL, Appeldoorn NL, Canal
Isabel II Madrid ES
(+ c. 15 sewage works in USA & Canada)
Ostara (Pearl /
CrystalGreen)
Calahorra ES PhorWater/DAM
Oldburgen D, Severn Trent Stoke GB, Tilburg NL Phospaq
Castres F Naskeo
Helsingborg DK Veolia (Struvia)
Aarhus DK, Herning DK Suez (Phosgreen)
Offenburg Stuttgart process
Struvite installations
full scale in municipal sewage works,operating or underway

7. NSSR Paris 7/10/2016 - 7
www.phosphorusplatform.eu
Struvite installations - currently in operation or underway
https://de.batchgeo.com/map/f4c921a4573967d7e18aa0e651cc3264

8. NSSR Paris 7/10/2016 - 8
www.phosphorusplatform.eu
Documents ?
Germany Authorised ?
Sold as ‘partially solubilised
rock phosphate’?
NL Authorised by law 29/3/16 Online*
Flanders Authorised by Ministry letter Online*
Denmark Authorised by Ministry letter Online*
UK Authorised No documents to date
France NOT authorised
Spain NOT authorised
USA Federal? States? No documents to date
Canada Federal? States? No documents to date
* See www.phosphorusplatform.eu/regulatory
Regulatory status of struvite as fertiliser

9. NSSR Paris 7/10/2016 - 9
www.phosphorusplatform.eu
Regulatory status of struvite as fertiliser:
Questions:
-“Mutual recognition”
If struvite is authorised as a fertiliser in one Member State,(MS)
then another should recognise this as applicable on their territory also
- but does this apply to the “chemical struvite” ? Only to a specific company’s
(authorised) product ?
- End-of-Waste:
Authorisation as fertiliser does not necessarily mean End-of-Waste
- End-of-Waste seems to function differently in different MS: some require a national
procedure,some accept company self-declaration

10. NSSR Paris 7/10/2016 - 10
www.phosphorusplatform.eu
Status at EU level
• EU Fertilisers Regulation (EUFR)
- currently in discussion
in Council & Parliament
- struvite is NOT included
• STRUBIAS process (struvite, biochars, ashes)
- mandate from DG GROW to JRC – launched July 2016
- impact assessment / criteria proposal
- (should) propose criteria for struvite
to add into the revised EUFR
as ‘CMC’ (component material category)
Waternet NL (AirPrex)

11. NSSR Paris 7/10/2016 - 11
www.phosphorusplatform.eu
Challenges
• EU Fertilisers Regulation (EUFR)
- proposed amendments to contaminant limits
- political acceptance of struvite from municipal sewage
- sewage excluded from compost, digestates in EUFR
-“risk” (perceived or real) of pathogens, pharmaceuticals
- traceability?
• NL Government
- currently also discussing limits on pathogens, pharmaceuticals
• STRUBIAS process
- need to input data for Impact Assessment: market potential
- data on contaminants, pathogens and pharmaceuticals
Ostara

12. NSSR Paris 7/10/2016 - 12
www.phosphorusplatform.eu
Challenges
• Standards
- dry matter (crystal water loss 56C)
- US AFPC n2 “free water”
- ISO/AWI 19745 under development?
- plant nutrient availability
- organics / organic carbon?
- contaminants?
• Quality protocols
- what “is” struvite ?
- beyond EU Fertiliser Regulation requirements
- REACH Substance Identity ?
- marketing / user confidence
Naskeo, Castres,
France

13. NSSR Paris 7/10/2016 - 13
www.phosphorusplatform.eu
Challenges: REACH
• Art 2(7)d 1) of REACH:
a “recovered substance” only needs to be registered once. That is,
after one producer has registered then others producers do not
need to register
• Important to facilitate recycling
• Applicable to recovered struvite: letter from DG GROW to ESPP
7/12/2015 published at www.phosphorusplatform.eu/regulatory
• Struvite registered by Berlin Wasser (Lead Registrant), Aarhus
Vand Denmark and by Hoogheemraadschap Amstel

14. NSSR Paris 7/10/2016 - 14
www.phosphorusplatform.eu
Challenges: REACH
• Current REACH dossier is incomplete, out of date
- endpoints not conform to updated ECHA Guidance
- no test data for skin irritation/corrosion, eye
irritation/corrosion, acute oral toxicity are (read-across used but
known to be not applicable for inorganic phosphates)
- new study data available should be added
- Substance Identity missing “boundary conditions”
• But Art 2(7)d means there is no cost-sharing obligation
- so how to organise this ?

15. NSSR Paris 7/10/2016 - 15
www.phosphorusplatform.eu
ESPP: a coalition for action
• Bring together industry, R&D, public authorities, stakeholders
water & waste industries, mineral and organic fertilisers,
chemicals, P-recycling products and processes …
• Share vision for sustainable phosphorus in Europe
• Dialogue & network expertise and experience
• Build awareness
• Assess and propose policy & regulatory developments
• Disseminate innovation, business cases, value chains
Membership is open to companies,governments, regions,knowledge centres,NGOs …
www.phosphorusplatform.eu/BecomeAMember

16. NSSR Paris 7/10/2016 - 16
www.phosphorusplatform.eu
Status of struvite production and regulation in Europe
Chris Thornton - European Sustainable Phosphorous Platform
• info@phosphorusplatform.eu
• www.phosphorusplatform.eu @phosphorusfacts