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Future nutrient recovery from sewage sludge regarding three different scenarios - German case study
(2022)
Agricultural sewage sludge utilization becomes less important in Germany. In 2017, new fertilizer and waste laws caused the agricultural sewage sludge utilization to collapse by more than a quarter. From 2029, German wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) must recover phosphorus (P) from sewage sludge if it contains more than 2 wt % P. Agricultural utilization will be prohibited for large WWTPs >100,000 population equivalents (pe) from 2029 and >50,000 pe from 2032. In Germany, each federal state must annually report amounts and quality of agriculturally utilized sewage sludge which was 16% of the total disposal in 2019. The reports of 10 states were evaluated for 2016 and 2017 representing approx. 60% of the total agriculturally used sludge volume. In 2016, 60% of the WWTPs’ sludges exceeded the recovery limit of 2 wt % P which is 70% of the amount of sludge and 85% of the phosphorus load. Other nutrients are not affected by the recovery obligation. However, many P recovery processes recover other nutrients, too. Considering three different scenarios for future German sewage sludge disposal shows that 70–77% of the P load in sewage sludge will probably be recovered in the future. At the same time, this applies for about 0–16% nitrogen, 36–52% of calcium, 31–53% of potassium, and 40–52% of magnesium. However, these recovered nutrients loads can substitute only 1% or less of the commercial fertilizer demand except from phosphorus which is up to 43% of the demand.
Phosphorus (P) recovery is obligatory for all sewage sludges with more than 20 g P/kg dry matter (DM) from 2029 in Germany. Nine wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were chosen to investigate variations of phosphorus contents and other parameters in sewage sludge over the year. Monthly sewage sludge samples from each WWTP were analyzed for phosphorus and other matrix elements (C, N, H, Ca, Fe, Al, etc.), for several trace elements (As, Cr, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sn) and loss of ignition. Among the nine WWTPs, there are four which have phosphorus contents both above and below the recovery limit of 20 g/kg DM along the year. Considering the average phosphorus content over the year, only one of them is below the limit. Compared to other matrix elements and parameters, phosphorus fuctuations are low with an average of 7% over all nine WWTPs. In total, only hydrogen and carbon are more constant in the sludge.
In several WWTPs with chemical phosphorus elimination, phosphorus fuctuations showed similar courses like iron and/or aluminum. WWTPs with chamber flter presses rather showed dilution efects of calcium dosage. As result of this study, monthly phosphorus measurement is highly recommended to determine whether a WWTP is below the
20 g/kg DM limit.
Phosphorus rich sewage sludge ash is a promising source to produce phosphorus recycling fertilizer. However, the low plant availability of phosphorus in these ashes makes a treatment necessary. A thermochemical treatment (800–1000 °C) with alkali additives transforms poorly plant available phosphorus phases to highly plant available calcium alkali Phosphates (Ca,Mg)(Na,K)PO4. In this study, we investigate the use of K2SO4 as additive to produce a phosphorus potassium fertilizer in laboratory-scale experiments (crucible). Pure K2SO4 is not suitable as high reaction temperatures are required due to the high melting point of K2SO4.
To overcome this barrier, we carried out series of experiments with mixtures of K2SO4 and Na2SO4 resulting in a lower economically feasible reaction temperature (900–1000 °C). In this way, the produced phosphorus potassium fertilizers (8.4 wt.% K, 7.6 wt.% P) was highly plant available for phosphorus indicated by complete extractable phosphorus in neutral ammonium citrate solution. The added potassium is, in contrast to sodium, preferably incorporated into silicates instead of phosphorus phases. Thus, the highly extractable phase (Ca,Mg)(Na,K)PO4 in the thermochemical products contain less potassium than expected. This preferred incorporation is confirmed by a pilot-scale trial (rotary kiln) and thermodynamic calculation.
Recycled fertilizers produced using processes for the recovery of phosphate from residual materials such as wastewater, sewage sludge and sewage sludge ashes show very good bioavailability, but it is still a product largely unknown to the market. The aim of CLOOP is therefore to document the properties and effects of such fertilizers through chemical, mineralogical and ecological analyses as well as analytical method development and pot and field plant growth trials.
Outotec focused on 3 points in CLOOP: Experimental campaigns, process simulations as well as economic analyses with focus on the AshDec process, respectively the design of a large-scale AshDec plant for phosphorus recovery. The laboratory scale trials as well as the semi-industrial scale campaign provided valuable insights into the operating parameters of the process and the plant. As a result, for example, the temperature range could be significantly lowered, and the additive addition reduced by approx. 20 %. They have further shown that the AshDec process is not susceptible to operating fluctuations and that the product can be consistently produced at high quality. With the selection of suitable operating parameters, heavy metals (As, Pb, Cd, (Zn)) can be removed. Within the campaign, about 1.5 t of fertilizer for the plant trials in CLOOP could be produced. An AshDec plant process was digitally created in simulation software, allowing valuable process parameters to be simulated at various operating parameters. On this basis, a full-scale plant was designed. The data obtained in the project were used for a detailed economic analysis including a sensitivity analysis. It was possible to show under which conditions this plant can be operated economically.
At BAM, the AshDec fertilizer was synthesized with different additives and then applied to plant experiments at Uni Bonn. The goal hereby was to check differences in plant uptake. Because of the promising results of AshDec synthesized with sodium-carbonate and because this AshDec version does not require special off gas treatment for sulfur recovery (compared to AshDec synthesized with sodium-sulfate), all project partners agreed on continuing working with this AshDec variation. It was then used as a raw P-source for formulating it into NPK-fertilizers, by granulation with ammonium-sulfate and straw ash as potassium source. These recycling fertilizers were applied to plant- and field experiments by project partners in Brazil (University of Sao Paulo) and Australia (University of Queensland). Furthermore, in leaching experiments, the solubility of phosphorus in AshDec was compared to triple super phosphate. The experiments were carried out on soils with a varying phosphorus buffering index. Results show, that the phosphorus form in AshDec is way less soluble in water. This indicates that AshDec has the potential for a so-called next generation fertilizer – a fertilizer which’s nutrients remain in the soil and supply the plant according to its needs. At the moment, this behavior gets examined more in depth in lysimeter experiments in cooperation with University of Technology Berlin.
The focus of KWB is the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of different NextGen fertilizers to evaluate the entire process chain from recovery to fertilizer application. The NextGen fertilizer is credited by the amount of plant available nutrients in the product, which replace nutrients from conventional fertilizer. The LCA covers N-struvite precipitation from municipal wastewater, K-struvite precipitation from industrial wastewater and the AshDec-product from sewage sludge. The LCA task is almost complete. It could be shown that struvite precipitation has comprehensive environmental benefits, mainly since positive side effects occur in sewage sludge treatment (e.g. reduced sludge volume). In principle, the energetic and ecological profile of the AshDec process compared to direct use of sewage sludge ash cannot be assessed as being generally beneficial or negative. Regarding the global warming potential, the Ashdec process shows that the expenses (e.g. energy, chemicals) cannot be covered by the P fertilizer credit. In contrast, the impact categories “terrestrial acidification potential”, and “freshwater eutrophication potential” show positive results as the credits for conventional fertilizer are higher than the burdens for the process.
At University Bonn, the standardized pot experiments were conducted with several AshDec variations, using ryegrass, soybean, and spinach on a slightly acidic sandy soil and an organic-free standard substrate. P-uptake and biomass production of different AshDec variations were generally like those of triple super phosphate and struvite, and clearly outperformed untreated sewage sludge ash and rock phosphate. Field trials in Australia and Brazil with sugarcane on acidic soils are still ongoing and results are expected by the end of 2021.
Phosphorus (P) resource availability is declining and the efficiency of applied nutrients in agricultural soils is becoming increasingly important. This is especially true for P fertilizers from recycled materials, which often have low plant availability. Specific co-fertilization with ammoniumcan enhance P plant availability in soils amended with these P fertilizers, and thus the yield of plants. To investigate this effect, we performed a pot experiment with maize in slightly acidic soil (pH 6.9) with one water-soluble (triple superphosphate [TSP]) and two water-insoluble (sewage sludge-based and hyperphosphate [Hyp]) P fertilizers and anammoniumsulfate nitrate with or without a nitrification inhibitor (NI). The dry matter yield of maize was significantly increased by the NI with the Hyp (from 14.7 to 21.5 g/pot) and TSP (from 40.0 to 45.4 g/pot) treatments. Furthermore, P uptake was slightly increased in all three P treatments with the NI, but not significantly. Olsen-P extraction and P K-edge micro-X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy showed that apatite-P of the water insoluble P fertilizers mobilized during the plant growth period. In addition, novel nitrogen (N) K-edge micro-XANES spectroscopy and the Mogilevkina method showed that the application of an NI increased the fixation of ammonium in detectable hot spots in the soil. Thus, the delay in the nitrification process by the NI and the possible slow-release of temporarily fixed ammoniumin the soil resulted in a high amount of plant available Ammonium in the soil solution. This development probably decreases the rhizosphere pH due to release of H+ by plants during ammoniumuptake, whichmobilizes phosphorus in the amended soil and increases the dry matter yield of maize. This is especially important for water-insoluble apatite-based P fertilizers (conventional and recycled), which tend to have poor plant availability.
One of the key elements in the transformation towards a circular economy (CE) is providing more sustainable practices for resources and waste management. Improvement actions focused on transformation towards a CE should be targeted at all groups of materials and waste. As water is essential for human survival and well-being and plays a significant role in sustainable development (SD), the actions related to the reuse of water and the recovery of raw materials from wastewater and other water-based waste should be taken. The paper presents a proposition for a new CE model framework in the water and wastewater sector, which includes the six following actions: reduction—prevent wastewater generation in the first place by the reduction of water usage and pollution reduction at source; reclamation (removal)—an application of effective Technologies for the removal of pollutants from water and wastewater; reuse—reuse of wastewater as an alternative source of water supply (non-potable usage), recycling—recovery of water from wastewater for potable usage; recovery—recovery of resources such as nutrients and energy from water-based waste, and rethink—rethinking how to use resources to create a sustainable economy, which is `free` of waste and emissions. The novelty of the proposed CE model framework is that it presents possible ways of implementing CE principles in the water and wastewater sector, with a strong emphasis not only technological but also organisational and societal changes. Application of the proposed model may help to further transform the European economy to the CE model. Moreover, the indicated model can be significant tool supporting an assessment of local or regional progress towards CE in the water and wastewater sector and further environmental management and planning.
A new sewage sludge ordinance was set in force in Germany in 2017 that makes phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge mandatory. The technological possibilities for P-recovery from waste water, sewage sludge and sewage sludge ash were presented.
Sewage sludge ashes (SSA) contain up to 13% P and are thus promising raw materials for fertilizer production. However, SSAs also contain heavy metals and the main P-bearing mineral phases whitlockite and aluminium phosphate are poorly bioavailable. We developed and patented a process that produces fertilizers from SSA addressing the above mentioned challenges. SSA is thermo-chemically treated at ~950°C under reducing conditions (reductive: dry sewage sludge) in a rotary kiln together with an alkali compound such as sodium or potassium sulfate, hydroxide or carbonate. Some undesired trace elements such as As, Hg, Pb and Cd are evaporated and separated via off gas treatment system. The poorly soluble phosphates are transformed into calcium alkali phosphates (CaNaPO4 or CaKPO4) that are not water soluble but completely soluble in neutral ammonium citrate solution (NAC). Pot experiments showed that the fertilizer performance of the treated SSA containing calcium alkali phosphates as the single P-bearing mineral phase was comparable to the performance of triple superphosphate. The PNAC-solubility of fertilizer products correlated very well with the resulting contents of calcium alkali phosphates and the P-uptake of plants in pot experiments. The effect of the ratio alkali/P on the PNAC-solubility was investigated by crucible experiments and trial series with a medium scale rotary kiln using different SSAs and alkali phosphates. The effects of operational parameters such as the temperature and the retention time were investigated as well as concurring side reactions of the alkali compounds e.g. with SiO2 present in SSA. The alkali/P ratio must be roughly adjusted at 2 to achieve 100% PNAC-solubility for a common type of SSA. A demonstration trial with an output of 2 t recycling fertilizer was carried out in an industrial rotary kiln (product output 30 kg/h). The PNAC-solubility of the product varied between 60% and 80% during the 4 days campaign showing that the transformation of the mineral P-phases to calcium alkali phosphates was not complete. This was observed although the amount of Na2SO4 additive was dosed according to the results of the pre-investigations. Structure analysis by XRD showed that besides the target compound CaNaSO4 also some Ca3(PO4)2 remained in the SSA as well as some unreacted Na2SO4 additive. Obviously, the conditions in the industrial rotary kiln were not optimal for the process showing that some process aspects have to be reconsidered for the scale-up.
The annual demand of phosphorus (P) for fertilizer use is more than 550,000 t in Germany. Several of the input streams like mineral fertilizer produced from phosphate rock or sewage sludge are problematic due to contamination with heavy metals and organic pollutants and/or supply risks. Phosphorus recovery from the wastewater stream might help to diminish these problems. Several procedures have been developed to recover P from either sewage sludge ash (SSA) or wastewater via precipitation or crystallization as struvite. This study determined the elemental composition and trace metal mass fractions of 252 SSA samples and 17 struvite samples from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) to see whether there are differences related to the source of the sludge (municipal/industrial) or the stage of the WWTP where the struvite is produced. Results indicated that there is no clear trend of the elemental mass fractions related to the source of the sludge. All struvite samples show very low heavy metal contents, even though the struvite precipitated from the sludge shows slightly elevated heavy metal mass fractions compared to struvite crystallized from sludge liquor. Struvite is a clean and plant available material for fertilizer production from wastewater streams and has some advantages for the wastewater treatment plant. However, since the P recovery rate of struvite processes is low (7–11%) compared to that from SSA processes (90%), recovery from SSA is necessary for a substantial P recovery from the wastewater stream.
Phosphorus (P) for fertilizer use can be recovered from sewage sludge ash (SSA). To enhance the bioavailability of P and reduce the heavy metal content of SSA, it can be treated thermochemically with Na2CO3 or Na2SO4 at 950 °C in a rotary kiln using dry sewage sludge or lignite as reducing agent. These processes were investigated by thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis coupled with gas analysis. Reducing conditions in this experimental setup were provided by 2 % hydrogen in the Ar carrier gas. During SSA + Na2CO3 treatment CO2, CO and water were detected in the off-gas. During SSA + Na2SO4 treatment SO2, some CO2 and water were detected. Heavy metal removal was more efficient for SSA + Na2CO3 compared to the sulfate variant. A SSA + Na2SO4 + lignite variant which also formed CO shifted the heavy metal removal to the results obtained with Na2CO3 which was obviously due to the additional reduction potential. However, Zn evaporation was not achieved with the Na2SO4 variants which were most probably due to immobilization as ZnS.
Sewage sludge incineration is extensively practiced in some European countries such as the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. A survey of German sewage sludge ash showed that the recovery potential is high, approx. 19,000 t of phosphorus per year. However, the survey also discovered that the bioavailability of phosphorus in the sewage sludge ash is poor and that more than half of the ashes cannot be used as fertilizers due to high heavy metal content. A new thermochemical process for sewage sludge ash treatment was developed that transforms the ash into marketable fertilizer products. Sewage sludge ash was thermochemically treated with sodium and potassium additives under reducing conditions, whereby the phosphate-bearing mineral phases were transformed into plant available phosphates. High P-bioavailability was achieved with a molar Na/P ratio > 1.75 in the starting materials. Sodium sulfate, carbonate and hydroxide performed comparably as additives for this calcination process. Potassium carbonate and -hydroxide have to be added in a molar K/P ratio > 2.5 to achieve comparable P-solubility. The findings of the laboratory scale investigations were confirmed by an industrial demonstration trial for an ash treatment with sodium sulfate. Simultaneously, the volatile transition metal arsenic (61% removal) as well as volatile heavy metals such as cadmium (80%), mercury (68%), lead (39%) and zinc (9%) were removed via the off-gas treatment system. The product of the demonstration trial is characterized by high bioavailability and a toxic trace element mass fraction below the limit values of the German fertilizer ordinance, thus fulfilling the quality parameters for a P-fertilizer.
Phosphorus-fertilizers from secondary resources such as sewage sludge ash (SSA) will become more important in the future as they could substitute conventional fertilizers based on the nonrenewable resource phosphate rock. Thermochemical approaches were developed which remove heavy metals from SSA prior to its fertilizer application on farmlands. We analyzed the chemical state of mercury and selenium in SSA before and after thermochemical treatment under different conditions for P-fertilizer production by X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. In some incineration plants the mercury loaded carbon adsorber from off-gas cleaning was collected together with the SSA for waste disposal. SSAs from those plants contained mercury mainly bound to carbon/organic material. The other SSAs contained inorganic mercury compounds which are most probably stabilized in the SSA matrix and were thus not evaporated during incineration. During thermochemical treatment, carbon-bound mercury was removed quantitatively. In contrast, a certain immobile fraction of inorganic mercury compounds remained in thermochemically treated SSA, which were not clearly identified. HgSe might be one of the inorganic compounds, which is supported by results of Se K-edge XANES spectroscopy. Furthermore, the chemical state of selenium in the SSAs was very sensitive to the conditions of the thermochemical treatment.
Stocks of high grade phosphate rock are becoming scarce, and there is growing concern about potentially harmful impurities in conventional phosphorus fertilizers. Sewage sludge ash is a promising secondary phosphorus source. However, to remove heavy metals and convert the phosphorus contained in sewage sludge ash into mineral phases available to plants, an after-treatment is required. Laboratory-scale calcination experiments of sewage sludge ash blended with sodium salts using dried sewage sludge as a reducing agent were carried out at 1000 °C. Thus, the Ca3(PO4)2 or whitlockite component of raw sewage sludge ash, which is not readily plant available, was converted to CaNaPO4 (buchwaldite). Consequently, nearly complete phosphorus solubility in ammonium citrate (a well-established indicator for plant availability) was achieved. Moreover, it was shown that Na2CO3 may be replaced by moderately priced Na2SO4. However, molar ratios of Na/P > 2 were required to achieve >80% phosphorus solubility. Such over-stoichiometric Na consumption is largely caused by side reactions with the SiO2 component of the sewage sludge ash – an explanation for which clear evidence is provided for the first time.
Phosphorus (P) is essential for all forms of life and cannot be substituted. It is one of the macro nutrients applied in form of mineral or organic fertilizers in agricultural crop production. Mineral P fertilizers are generally based on phosphate rock, a limited resource. Western Europe completely depends on imports as it has no own relevant phosphate mines. The most abundant phosphate deposits are located only in a few countries such as Morocco, China, South Africa and the United States of America. Furthermore, phosphate rock and as a consequence mineral P fertilizers are often contaminated with the toxic elements cadmium and uranium. In Order to substitute phosphate rock P-bearing waste streams are investigated for their potential to be recyded as fertilizers. Wastewater is one of the important P-bearing waste streams that were in the focus of research in the last 10 years. German wastewater is e.g. a carrier of approx. 70,000 t of phosphorus per year.
Chemical state of chromium, sulfur, and iron in sewage sludge ash based phosphorus fertilizers
(2015)
As an essential element of all life forms, phosphorus (P) is vital to the fertilizer industry. With decreasing quantity and quality of phosphate rock resources, recycling P-fertilizers from wastewater is of increasing interest. The P-fertilizer products of a recently developed thermochemical process for P recovery from sewage sludge ash (SSA) were investigated by chromium, sulfur, and iron K-edge X-ray near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. This paper focuses the formation and prevention of toxic chromium(VI) and toxic sulfides during the thermochemical processes. Reducing conditions prevent the oxidation of chromium(III) in the SSA to toxic chromium(VI). Sulfides formed under the reducing conditions are nontoxic iron sulfides. Hematite (Fe2O3) present in the SSA is reduced to magnetite (Fe3O4). A gentle post-treatment at 400 °C under oxidizing conditions converts the iron sulfides into plant-available iron sulfates. This oxidative post-treatment does not form undesired chromium(VI) compounds.
Incineration of sewage sludge is expected to increase in the future due to growing concerns about the direct use of sludge in agriculture. Sewage sludge is the pollutant sink of wastewater treatment and thus loaded with contaminants that might pose environmental hazards. Incineration degrades organic pollutants efficiently, but since the ash is currently mostly disposed of, all valuable component like phosphorus (P) and technologically relevant metals present in the sewage sludge ash (SSA) are removed from the economic cycle entirely. We conducted a complete survey of SSA from German mono-incineration facilities and determined the theoretical recovery potential of 57 elements. German SSA contains up to 19,000 t/a P which equals approximately 13% of phosphorus applied in the German agriculture in form of phosphate rock based mineral fertilizers. Thus, SSA is an important secondary resource of P. However, its P-solubility in ammonium citrate solution, an indicator for the bioavailability, is only about 26%. Treatment of SSA is recommended to enhance P bioavailability and remove heavy metals before it is applied as fertilizer. The recovery potential for technologically relevant metals is generally low, but some of these elements might be recovered efficiently in the course of P recovery exploiting synergies.