Added-value from innovative value chains by establishing nutrient cycles via struvite

Abstract The establishment of nutrient cycles has been widely proposed as a strategy for an efficient management of nutrients such as phosphorus (P). Global reserves of phosphate rocks are limited and are being increasingly depleted. At the same time, P is disposed of via various substance-streams in wastewater treatment. Establishing nutrient cycles may solve these problems and lead to innovative added-value chains with a higher added-value. The objective of this paper is to assess the added-value of P-recovery from sewage sludge via struvite precipitation and its application as fertilizer in Berlin-Brandenburg (Germany). The added-value from struvite precipitation was determined by performing a cost/benefit analysis based on data from standardized questionnaires and interviews with operators of wastewater treatment facilities. Surveys of 146 farmers were used to ascertain what crops were cultivated in the study area and to gauge the willingness of farmers to substitute struvite for conventional mineral P-fertilizer. Benefits from using struvite were found by calculating the fertilizer costs when struvite is substituted for conventional mineral fertilizer. The results indicate that the precipitation of struvite and its use as fertilizer generates added-value gains for wastewater treatment facilities (416,000 €) and for crop producers (35,000 €). In wastewater treatment, struvite precipitation reduces operating costs and yields additional revenues through struvite sales. In crop production, fertilization costs are reduced by substituting struvite for mineral P-, N- and Ca-fertilizers. The distribution of the added-value in the struvite value chain is determined by the marketing strategy of struvite. Farmers may obtain a higher share of added-value if struvite is marketed via direct sale.

[1]  E. V. Münch,et al.  Controlled struvite crystallisation for removing phosphorus from anaerobic digester sidestreams. , 2001, Water research.

[2]  Dana Cordell,et al.  Sustainable Use of Phosphorus , 2010 .

[3]  W. Römer.  Vergleichende Untersuchungen zur Pflanzenverfügbarkeit von Phosphat aus verschiedenen P‐Recycling‐Produkten im Keimpflanzenversuch , 2006 .

[4]  A. E. Johnston,et al.  Effectiveness of different precipitated phosphates as phosphorus sources for plants , 2003 .

[5]  J. Goudriaan,et al.  Long-term global availability of food: continued abundance or new scarcity? , 2008 .

[6]  E. Ostrom.  Understanding Institutional Diversity , 2005 .

[7]  F. Tettenborn,et al.  Phosphorus Recovery from Wastewater – State-of-the-Art and Future Potential , 2011 .

[8]  Jan Bentzen,et al.  Regional income effects and renewable fuels: Increased usage of renewable energy sources in Danish rural areas and its impact on regional incomes , 1997 .

[9]  Axel Haller.  Wertschöpfungsrechnung: ein Instrument zur Steigerung der Aussagefähigkeit von Unternehmensabschlüssen im internationalen Kontext , 1997 .

[10]  Rachelle Lombardi,et al.  The future distribution and production of global phosphate rock reserves , 2011 .

[11]  J. Schröder,et al.  Towards global phosphorus security: a systems framework for phosphorus recovery and reuse options. , 2011, Chemosphere.

[12]  L. Giuffré de López Camelo,et al.  Heavy metals input with phosphate fertilizers used in Argentina. , 1997, The Science of the total environment.

[13]  S. A. Parsons,et al.  Phosphorus Recovery from Wastewater by Struvite Crystallization: A Review , 2009 .

[14]  V Jegatheesan,et al.  An economic evaluation of phosphorus recovery as struvite from digester supernatant. , 2006, Bioresource technology.

[15]  P Pearce,et al.  Potential phosphorus recovery by struvite formation. , 2002, Water research.

[16]  D. Cordell,et al.  The story of phosphorus: Global food security and food for thought , 2009 .

[17]  Paul H. Brunner,et al.  Substance Flow Analysis as a Decision Support Tool for Phosphorus Management , 2010 .

[18]  Y Ueno,et al.  Three Years Experience of Operating and Selling Recovered Struvite from Full-Scale Plant , 2001, Environmental technology.

[19]  R. Gay,et al.  An Economic and Environmental Evaluation of the Opportunities for Substituting Phosphorus Recovered from Wastewater Treatment Works in Existing UK Fertiliser Markets , 2000 .

[20]  Dana Cordell,et al.  The Story of Phosphorus : Sustainability implications of global phosphorus scarcity for food security , 2010 .

[21]  Stuart White,et al.  Peak Phosphorus: Clarifying the Key Issues of a Vigorous Debate about Long-Term Phosphorus Security , 2011 .

[22]  N. Soethe,et al.  Recycling and Assessment of Struvite Phosphorus from Sewage Sludge , 2008 .

[23]  K. Yetilmezsoy,et al.  Recovery of ammonium nitrogen from the effluent of UASB treating poultry manure wastewater by MAP precipitation as a slow release fertilizer. , 2009, Journal of hazardous materials.

[24]  B. Heinzmann,et al.  Induced Magnesium Ammonia Phosphate Precipitation to Prevent Incrustations and Measures for Phosphorus Recovery , 2006 .

[25]  Bengt Hillring,et al.  Rural development and bioenergy—experiences from 20years of development in Sweden , 2002 .

[26]  YingHao Liu,et al.  Recovery of struvite from animal wastewater and its nutrient leaching loss in soil. , 2011, Journal of hazardous materials.

[27]  Göksel N. Demirer,et al.  Ammonia removal from anaerobically digested dairy manure by struvite precipitation , 2005 .

[28]  S. Parsons,et al.  Assesing the Potential for Struvite Recovery at Sewage Treatment Works , 2001, Environmental technology.

[29]  G. Bristow,et al.  Food supply chain approaches: exploring their role in rural development. , 2000 .

[30]  Max Maurer,et al.  Struvite precipitation thermodynamics in source-separated urine. , 2007, Water research.

[31]  D. Vuuren,et al.  Phosphorus demand for the 1970-2100 period: A scenario analysis of resource depletion , 2010 .