WCW24

Phosphorus (P) is a non-renewable resource, an irreplaceable macronutrient for life, critical in food production. However, the inefficient use of P led to an exceeding of safe limits and subsequent losses into water bodies and landfills, posing a threat to aquatic life and, enacting the urgency of adopting preventive measures of P pollution in aquatic environments. By recovering P, not only can water body pollution be mitigated, but the reclaimed phosphorus can also be reused to meet demand, thereby preventing resource depletion. Physico-chemical and biological processes are mainly used for phosphorus removal, and techniques such as sludge composting, crystallization, and thermal and thermochemical processes achieve P recovery for reuse purposes. The choice of technology is contingent on national regulations, soil properties, and the specific target plants for the application of the recovered phosphorus. Therefore, different technologies and various levels of phosphorus recovery are experienced in various industrialized countries in the European Union and North America. Innovantage has developed the InnoCyclone technology to support municipalities and industries in Manitoba and Canada to achieve cheaper wastewater clarification and move from P precipitation to P recovery from municipal lagoons. A unique study conducted by Innovantage in collaboration with the University of Manitoba has proven that chemically precipitated sludge discharged by the InnoCyclone can be composted, and phosphorus can be rendered bioavailable for plant uptake, dispelling the misconception of the non-recoverability of chemically precipitated sludge. The produced compost met the CCME classification of Class A compost. When applied to Canola and switchgrass plants, the phosphorus uptake, biomass yield, plant growth, and health were better compared to chemical fertilizers (MAP) used as a reference. This opens the gate to alternative resource recovery for the benefit of our local agriculture.