November 2014 - SCOPE # 109
In the November 2014 issue of SCOPE:
Update scientific publications overview: As a contribution to the SCOPE newsletter Wetsus has inventoried articles on phosphate recovery technologies that have been published in the scientific literature in the first 9 months of 2014.
P in sewage sludge Sewage sludge incineration ash from 24 of Germany’s 26 mono-incineration plants (plants incinerating municipal or industrial sewage sludge only, not mixed with urban refuse or other wastes) was analysed for phosphorus content, and the potential phosphorus available for recovery and recycling via this route was estimated.
October 2014 - SCOPE # 108
In this issue of SCOPE:
- Sustainable Phosphorus Summit SPS 2014
- World young scientists’ message
- Phosphorus recycling summer school
October 2014 - SCOPE # 107
In this issue of SCOPE:
- Food waste hydrolysis Nutrient recycling through algae production
- Converting biowastes to fertilisers
- P-recovery technology review: Australia
August 2014 - SCOPE # 106
This special issue of the SCOPE (ESPP) Newsletter présents a selection of 25 visions for sustainable phosphorus tomorrow.
The European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform’s call for texts for a ‘vision for sustainable phosphorus in tomorrow’s world’ received 110 contributions. A selection of 25 are printed here. The others are online under Downloads and present an additional wide range of ideas and opinions.
Download Scope Newsletter # 106 - Visions for Sustainable Phosphorus
July 2014 - SCOPE # 105
In the latest issue of SCOPE we look at, among other issues:
P-recovery success stories in Europe
Willem Schipper, WS Consulting and Global Phosphate Forum, emphasised that there is considerable potential for recovering and recycling phosphorus from sewage, slaughter waste and manures, wherever these cannot be used locally because of geographical concentration of populations and livestock production.
Implementing policies for phosphorus
Phosphorus will also be impacted by the European Commission’s “Legislative proposal to review recycling and other waste related targets in the EU” through the proposed objective to ban by 2015 landfilling of recyclable wastes, given that phosphorus rich wastes such as sewage sludge incineration ash or meat and bone ash are “recyclable” (the phosphorus content can be recovered and recycled).
June 2014 - SCOPE # 104
The June 2014 SCOPE Newsletter discusses among other:
Phosphate rock in EU list of 20 Critical Raw Materials
The European Commission has updated its list of “Critical Raw Materials”, increasing from 14 to 20 materials, and adding phosphate rock. The EU’s Critical Raw Materials are defined by a high risk for supply security, compounded in the case of phosphate rock by non-substitutability, and high economic importance.
European essential requirements for organic fertilisers and recovered nutrients
The revision of the EU Fertiliser Regulation 2003/2003, currently under discussion, is intended to widen the scope of the Regulation to include inorganic, organo-mineral and organic fertilisers, organic soil improvers, liming products, growing media, plant bio-stimulant and agronomic fertiliser additives. This will considerably facilitate the placing on the market both of organic products containing recycled nutrients (e.g. processed biosolids, digestates, composts, biochars) and inorganic recovered phosphate products (e.g. struvite, phosphates recovered from sewage sludge, incineration ash).
April 2014 - SCOPE # 103
The April 2014 edition of SCOPE features many interesting articles, including:
Energy and nutrient cycling for a sustainable economy
The Biorefine Cluster Europe interconnects projects within the domain of nutrient and energy cycling. As such, the Cluster aims to contribute to a more sustainable resource management, both from an economic and ecologic point of view.
Myo-inositol and P recovery from corn steep water
Phytates in maize processing steep water were initially hydrolysed using enzymes to negatively charged myo-inositol phosphates (InsP), then separated by ion exchange. The separated InsP was eluted from the ion exchange resin (using brine) then subjected full hydrolysis using different phytase enzymes, to produce a mixed solution of myo-inositol and inorganic phosphates.
March 2014 - SCOPE # 102
The March 2014 edition of SCOPE includes among other articles on:
Phosphate recovery likely to be made obligatory
The revision of the Swiss federal ordinance on waste treatment OTD.RS.814.600, currently open to comment from local authorities, includes the obligation to recover phosphorus from sewage sludge and animal meat and bone meal.
Anammox plus struvite recovery
Biological ANAMMOX treatment of sludge dewatering centrate (see SCOPE Newsletter n° 89) was combined with struvite precipitation to assess a possible combined process for abatement of ammonia-N and soluble P with phosphorus recovery for recycling. This thesis has interest as a first assessment of the potential of combining ANAMMOX denitrification with struvite recovery to remove nutrients and recycle phosphorus from sludge dewatering liquors.
February 2014 - SCOPE # 101
In the Febraury edition of SCOPE:
REACH and recycled nutrient products
European stakeholder associations EBA and Fachverband Biogas, with the support of German consulting company BiPRO, have written to the EU Commission requesting confirmation that anaerobic biogas digestate is exempted from REACH registration.
Nutrient recovery: state of the knowledge
The recovery of useful products from wastewater and biosolids, including energy (from organic content by methanisation or other routes, heatpumps) and nutrients, is identified by WERF (Water Environment Research Foundation) subscribers as a key driver for new wastewater processes and technologies, and to help transition wastewater treatment facilities to become resource recovery factories or utilities of the future.
January 2014 - SCOPE # 100
In the January edition of SCOPE:
Knowledge institutes invited to join ESPP Platform
The European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform is inviting partnership from research organisations, universities, knowledge institutes, in order to participate in Platform actions, networks and projects.
Towards a North America partnership for phosphorus sustainability?
At the 2nd P-RCN meeting (see above) key stakeholders present identified the need to go beyond the coordination of research and to establish a North America “partnership” to actively develop sustainable phosphorus management and the business value chain.
Circular economy vision
The EU’s Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe proposed to cut food waste by 50% by 2020. The UK’s resource efficiency organisation WRAP, looking at a vision for a circular economy, estimates that halving household food waste by 2025 could save UK households £45 billion.