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Nutrient recovery from municipal wastewater for sustainable food production systems: An alternative to traditional fertilizers - Seattle
Citation:
Theregowda, R., Cissy Ma, A. González-Mejía, AND J. Garland. Nutrient recovery from municipal wastewater for sustainable food production systems: An alternative to traditional fertilizers - Seattle. Presented at AWWA Sustainable Water Management Conference, Seattle, Washington, March 25 - 28, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
In order to have a deeper understanding of the nutrient management in terms of sustainability and holistic system consideration, the study compared different levels of nutrient removal and recovery technologies (Struvite precipitation using proprietary techniques and added N reduction processes) by using emergy as a sustainability metric tool. Using the same tool, the study evaluates fertilizer production from struvite against traditional commercial fertilizers (e.g., diammonium phosphate). This study addresses 1) how the regulatory rules drive the system changes; 2) how the conventional system can be transitioned to more cost effective more sustainable alternatives in nutrient management. The results shed some lights on better nutrient management options, the corresponding system energy expenditure, and how to achieve overall system efficiency and optimize trade-offs of treatment options.
Description:
In order to have a deeper understanding of the nutrient management in terms of sustainability and holistic system consideration, the study compared different levels of nutrient removal and recovery technologies (Struvite precipitation using proprietary techniques and added N reduction processes) by using emergy as a sustainability metric tool. Using the same tool, the study evaluates fertilizer production from struvite against traditional commercial fertilizers (e.g., diammonium phosphate). This study addresses 1) how the regulatory rules drive the system changes; 2) how the conventional system can be transitioned to more cost effective more sustainable alternatives in nutrient management. The results shed some lights on better nutrient management options, the corresponding system energy expenditure, and how to achieve overall system efficiency and optimize trade-offs of treatment options.