Recycling of phosphorus in urban Sweden: a historical overview to guide a strategy for the future

Water Policy ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 611-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina-Simone Schmid Neset ◽  
Jan-Olof Drangert ◽  
Hans-Peter Bader ◽  
Ruth Scheidegger
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Phosphorus Removal ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
Human History ◽  
Sharp Decline ◽  
The World ◽  
To Come ◽  
Very High

Sustainable sanitation and food security have been issues in all human history although named differently. This study describes the evolution of sanitation arrangements in the Swedish town Linköping for the period 1870–2000. The flow of phosphorus from food consumption is estimated for the period and its output is divided into gainful reuse in agriculture and energy production and (harmful) losses to the hydrosphere and landfills. The rate of gainful reuse varies dramatically, from very high, up until the 1920s, followed by a drop to almost zero around 1950. Reuse was picking up since the introduction of a phosphorus removal unit at wastewater treatment plants and application of sludge in agriculture from the 1970s, but was followed by a sharp decline at the end of the 20th century. The results from Linköping are applied to scenarios for Sweden as a whole and extended to some anticipated implications for the world in the years to come.

Nutrient Removal in Small Wastewater Treatment Plants

1990 ◽  
Vol 22 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 211-216
Author(s):  
Niels Skov Olesen
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Nitrogen Removal ◽  
Nutrient Removal ◽  
Phosphorus Removal ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Ferrous Sulphate ◽  
Practical Solution ◽  
Sensitive Technique ◽  
Pumping Station ◽  
Denitrification Reactor

In some areas of Denmark nutrient removal is required even for very small wastewater plants, that is down to 500 pe (pe = person equivalents). The goal for the removal is 80% removal of nitrogen and 90% removal of phosphorus, or in terms of concentrations: 8 mg nitrogen/l and 1.2 mg phosphorus/l. The inlet concentrations are typically 40 mg N/l and 10 mg P/l. The paper presents the results from two such plants with a capacity of 800 pe. Phosphorus removal is made by simultaneous precipitation with ferrous sulphate. Nitrogen removal is carried out using the recirculation method. Both plants were originally rotor aerated oxidation ditches. They have been extended with a denitrification reactor and a recirculation pumping station. At present both plants have been in activity for about 3 years and with satisfactory results. Average concentrations of nitrogen (summer) and phosphorus is 7 mg/l and 0.9 mg/l respectively. Nitrogen removal seems to be a practical solution on these small plants. It is,though, sensitive to temperature and highly oxidized rain water. Phosphorus removal seems to be an easily run and relatively non-sensitive technique at least when using simultaneous precipitation.

The Staging of Large Wastewater Treatment Plants - A “Modular” Approach

1992 ◽  
Vol 25 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 67-73
Author(s):  
H. Fleckseder ◽  
L. Prendl ◽  
H. Meulenbroek
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Aeration Tank ◽  
Modular Approach ◽  
Central European ◽  
Plant Hydraulics ◽  
The World ◽  
Whole Life Cycle ◽  
Over Time

The primary driving force for re-investments in wastewater treatment plants in Austria - and also other countries in Central Europe - is at present not an increase in load to treatment but a marked increase in effluent requirements to be fulfilled. (The re-investments necessary for sludge handling and treatment remain outside this paper.) Within a period of 20 years, the load specific requirements on aeration tank volume rose five- to tenfold, when Lv = 2.0 kg BOD5/(m3d) was the starting value, and roughly doubled for final clarifiers. In addition, the importance of the application and expansion of primary sedimentation decreased as well. This development over time in Central European countries as well as the need to utilize previous investments as long as possible - 35 to 60 years for civil works are common as periods of depreciation - indicate that investments in new plant at any location in the world have to consider the possible whole life cycle of a plant and that plant hydraulics becomes the “key hook” for expandability.

scholarly journals Long-term investigation of phosphorus removal by iron electrocoagulation in small-scale wastewater treatment plants

2018 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 1304-1311 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Mishima ◽  
M. Hama ◽  
Y. Tabata ◽  
J. Nakajima
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Phosphorus Removal ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Phosphorus Release ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Operational Conditions ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Iron Electrolysis

Abstract Small-scale wastewater treatment plants (SWTPs), called Johkasou, are widely used as decentralized and individual wastewater treatment systems in sparsely populated areas in Japan. Even in SWTPs, nutrients should be removed to control eutrophication. An iron electrolysis method is effective to remove phosphorus chemically in SWTPs. However, it is necessary to determine the precise conditions under which phosphorus can be effectively and stably removed in full scale SWTPs for a long period. Therefore, long-term phosphorus removal from SWTPs was investigated and optimum operational conditions for phosphorus removal by iron electrolysis were analyzed in this study. Efficient phosphorus removal can be achieved for a long time by adjusting the amount of iron against the actual population equivalent. The change of the recirculation ratio had no negative effect on overall phosphorus removal. Phosphorus release to the bulk phase was prevented by the accumulated iron, which was supplied by iron electrolysis, resulting in stable phosphorus removal. The effect of environmental load reduction due to phosphorus removal by iron electrolysis was greater than the cost of power consumption for iron electrolysis.

scholarly journals Perspectives on Microalgal Biofilm Systems with Respect to Integration into Wastewater Treatment Technologies and Phosphorus Scarcity

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 2245
Author(s):  
Kateřina Sukačová ◽  
Daniel Vícha ◽  
Jiří Dušek
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Phosphorus Removal ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Phosphorus Uptake ◽  
Phosphorus Recovery ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Water Ecosystem ◽  
Treatment Technologies

Phosphorus is one of the non-renewable natural resources. High concentration of phosphorus in surface water leads to undesirable eutrophication of the water ecosystem. It is therefore necessary to develop new technologies not only for capturing phosphorus from wastewater but also for phosphorus recovery. The aim of the study was to propose three different integration scenarios for a microalgal biofilm system for phosphorus removal in medium and small wastewater treatment plants, including a comparison of area requirements, a crucial factor in practical application of microalgal biofilm systems. The area requirements of a microalgal biofilm system range from 2.3 to 3.2 m2 per person equivalent. The total phosphorus uptake seems to be feasible for construction and integration of microalgal biofilm systems into small wastewater treatment plants. Application of a microalgal biofilm for phosphorus recovery can be considered one of the more promising technologies related to capturing CO2 and releasing of O2 into the atmosphere.

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