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The precipitation of struvite, a magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate (MgNH₄PO₄ · 6H₂O) mineral, from wastewater is a promising method for recovering phosphorous. While this process is commonly used in engineered environments, our understanding of the underlying mechanisms responsible for the formation of struvite crystals remains limited. Specifically, indirect evidence suggests the involvement of an amorphous precursor and the occurrence of multi-step processes in struvite formation, which would indicate non-classical paths of nucleation and crystallization. In this study, we use synchrotron-based in situ x-ray scattering complemented by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy to obtain new insights from the earliest stages of struvite formation. The holistic scattering data captured the structure of an entire assembly in a time-resolved manner. The structural features comprise the aqueous medium, the growing struvite crystals, and any potential heterogeneities or complex entities. By analysing the scattering data, we found that the onset of crystallization causes a perturbation in the structure of the surrounding aqueous medium. This perturbation is characterized by the occurrence and evolution of Ornstein-Zernike fluctuations on a scale of about 1 nm, suggesting a non-classical nature of the system. We interpret this phenomenon as a liquid-liquid phase separation, which gives rise to the formation of the amorphous precursor phase preceding actual crystal growth of struvite. Our microscopy results confirm that the formation of Mg-struvite includes a short-lived amorphous phase, lasting >10 s.
The recycling of critical elements has crucial importance to maintain sustainable use of raw materials. Phosphorus(P) is a sought-after limited natural resource due to its wide use in modern agriculture mainly as P-fertilizers. But it causes major problems for the environment such as eutrophication of ecosystems. In the future it could be depleted due to the high demand and declining natural phosphorite ore deposits. Therefore, the phosphorus recovery from mine and agricultural waste waters will be an important factor in preservation of the global consumption. The precipitation of M-struvite (NH4MPO4·6H2O, M2+= Mg2+, Ni2+, Co2+) from waste waters is a promising P-recovery route. Besides avoidance of eutrophication due to extraction of excess phosphates and the restoration of the phosphorus resources the recovered M-struvites may be potentially be up-cycled for industrial applications e.g. Co and Ni-phosphate show excellent electrochemical properties for batteries or supercapacitors.
The precipitation process of M-struvites is strongly dependent on the degree of supersaturation, pH and on the exchange ions M2+.The influence of these precipitation parameters on the crystal morphology and size of transition metal struvite has been investigated only to a limited extent. An optimization of the reaction conditions could lead to more efficient M-struvite precipitation and significantly improved P-recovery method.
We reveal the effect of different reaction conditions on the crystal shape and crystallite size of M-struvites (NH4MPO4∙6H2O, M = Mg2+, Ni2+, Co2+). Furthermore, we characterize the coordination environment of the crystalline end products and their related phases [Co-dittmarite (COD) NH4CoPO4∙H2O and Co(II)phosphate octahydrate (CPO) Co3(PO4)2∙8H2O]. Due to the presence of various amorphous phases pH is changing significantly in the different systems. Mg- and Ni-struvite are stable in multiple concentrations of the educts and metal/phosphorus (M/P) ratios in contrast to Co-struvite which forms below M/P ratios of 0.4. A high M/P ratio with high concentrations of the educts decrease the crystallite size and idiomorphism of the crystals while low M/P ratios with low concentrations of the educts increase the crystallite size and the euhedral formation of the crystal planes. In the (Ni, Co)-solid solutions Ni and Co are homogenously distributed in the crystals with similar Ni# as in the aqueous solutions indicating no elemental fractionation in crystallization. Ni and Co-struvite exhibit a more centrosymmetric coordination environment compared to their related phases of COD and CPO determined by EXAFS. The CoO6 octahedron expands slightly the ideal size of the struvite structure and decomposes to Co-dittmarite. From TEM analysis and pH measurements it is suggested that the crystallization of Ni- and Co-struvite follows a non-classical crystallization theory which consists of multiple nanophases, crystalline or amorphous, on the way to the final crystalline product.
The recycling of critical elements has crucial importance to maintain sustainable use of raw materials. Phosphorus(P) is a sought-after limited natural resource due to its wide use in modern agriculture mainly as P-fertilizers. But it causes major problems for the environment such as eutrophication of ecosystems. In the future it could be depleted due to the high demand and declining natural phosphorite ore deposits. Therefore, the phosphorus recovery from agricultural waste waters will be an important factor in preservation of the global consumption. The precipitation of M-struvite (NH4MPO4·6H2O, M2+= Mg2+, Ni2+, Co2+, Zn2+, Cu2+ etc.) from agricultural and mine waste waters is a promising P-recovery route. Besides avoidance of eutrophication due to extraction of excess phosphates and the restoration of the phosphorus resources the recovered M-struvites may be potentially be up-cycled for industrial applications e.g. Co and Ni-phosphate show excellent electrochemical properties for batteries or supercapacitors.
The precipitation processes of M-struvites are strongly dependent on the degree of supersaturation, pH and on the exchange ions M2+.The impact of transition metals on the crystallization of M-struvite has been investigated only to a limited extent. An optimization of the reaction conditions could lead to more efficient M-struvite precipitation and significantly improved P-recovery method. In addition, these materials form transitional amorphous colloidal nanophases on the way to the crystalline product indicating a non-classical crystallization pathway. By interfering the crystallization process a potential highly reactive amorphous precursor material can be preserved for electrocatalysis.
Here, we present hints on the crystallization mechanism and the kinetics of precipitation through analysis of the transitional phases. Furthermore, we reveal the effect of different reaction conditions on the crystal shape and crystallite size of M-struvites (NH4MPO4∙6H2O, M = Mg2+, Ni2+, Co2+). In addition, we could evaluate the stability of crystalline M-struvites and their related phases through characterization of the coordination environment [Co-dittmarite (COD) NH4CoPO4∙H2O and Cobalt(II)phosphate octahydrate (CPO) Co3(PO4)2∙8H2O].Due to the low solubility product and their controlled precipitation through adjusting the reaction conditions (c(educts), pH, multi metal solutions) M-struvite is a promising recovery material as it could extract NH4+, PO43- and heavy metals at the same time out of agricultural and mine waste waters.
The influence of several precipitation parameters on the crystal morphology and size of transition metal struvite is poorly investigated. We reveal the effect of different reaction conditions on the crystal shape and crystallite size of M-struvites (NH4MPO4∙6H2O, M = Mg2+, Ni2+, Co2+). Furthermore, we characterize the coordination environment of the crystalline end products and their related phases [Co-dittmarite (COD) NH4CoPO4∙H2O and Co(II)phosphate octahydrate (CPO) Co3(PO4)2∙8H2O]. Mg- and Ni-struvite are stable in multiple concentrations of the educts and metal/phosphorus (M/P) ratios in contrast to Co-struvite which forms below M/P ratios of 0.4. A high M/P ratio with high concentrations of the educts decrease the crystallite size and idiomorphism of the crystals while low M/P ratios with low concentrations of the educts increase the crystallite size and the euhedral formation of the crystal planes. In the (Ni, Co)-solid solutions Ni and Co are homogenously distributed in the crystals with similar Ni# as in the aqueous solutions indicating no elemental fractionation in crystallization. Ni and Co-struvite exhibit a more centrosymmetric coordination environment compared to their related phases of COD and CPO determined by EXAFS. The CoO6 octahedron expands slightly the ideal size of the struvite structure and decomposes to Co-dittmarite. It is suggested that the crystallization of Ni- and Co-struvites follow a non-classical crystallization theory which consists of multiple nanophases on the way to the final crystal.