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