Nutrient Recovery from Urine through Membrane Techniques

Gautam, NIT, Patna

Nutrient Recovery, Phosphate Recovery, Ammonia Recovery, Membrane Based Process

A paradigm shift is currently underway from an attitude that considers urine as a waste to be treated, to a proactive interest in recovering materials and energy from these streams. This paper is concerned with the development and application of a systematic, model-based methodology for the development of membrane based nutrient recovery systems that are both economically attractive and sustainable. With the array of available treatment and recovery options growing steadily development of reliable, yet simple, performance based is a key issue with this approach in order to allow for a reliable solution based on global optimization. We argue that commercial urine simulators can be used to derive such models, and we illustrate this approach with a simple recovery system. A conceptual decision making algorithm is developed aiming at the configuration and optimization of nutrient recovery treatment trains. This, in turn, may stimulate and hasten the global transition from urine wastage to urine resource recovery facilities. On top of that, the proposed roadmap may help adjusting the choice of nutrient recovery strategies to local fertilizer markets, thereby speeding up the transition from a fossil-reserve based to a bio-based circular nutrient economy.
    [1] García Martín, H., Ivanova, N., Kunin, V., Warnecke, F., Barry, K.W., McHardy, A.C.,Yeates, C., He, S., Salamov, A.A., Szeto, E., Dalin, E., Putnam, N.H., Shapiro, H.J.,Pangilinan, J.L., Rigoutsos, I., Kyrpides, N.C., Blackall, L.L., McMahon, K.D.,Hugenholtz, P., 2006. Metagenomic analysis of two enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) sludge communities. Nat. Biotechnol. 24,1263–1269. [2] Happe, M., Sugnaux, M., Cachelin, C.P., Stauffer, M., Zufferey, G., Kahoun, T., Salamin,P.A., Egli, T., Comninellis, C., Grogg, A.P., Fischer, F., 2016. Scale-up of phosphate remobilization from sewage sludge in microbial fuel cell. Bioresour. Technol.200, 435–443. [3] He, Z., Kan, J., Wang, Y., Huang, Y., Mansfeld, F., Nealson, K.H., 2009. Electricity production coupled to ammonium in a microbial fuel cell. Environ. Sci. Technol.43, 3391–3397. [4] Heffer, P., Prud’homme, M., 2014. Fertilizer outlook 2014–2018. In: 82nd IFA Annual Conference, Sydney. [5] Hirooka, K., Ichihashi, O., 2013. Phosphorus recovery from artificial wastewater by microbial fuel cell and its effect on power generation. Bioresour. Technol. 137,368–375. [6] Ichihashi, O., Hirooka, K., 2012. Removal and recovery of phosphorus as struvite from swine wastewater using microbial fuel cell. Bioresour. Technol. 114, 303–307. [7] Wang, X., Wang, Y., Zhang, X., Feng, H., Li, C. and Xu, T. (2013) Phosphate Recovery from Excess Sludge by Conventional Electrodialysis (CED) and Electro dialysis with Bipolar Membranes (EDBM). Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 52(45), 15896-15904. [8] West, P.C., Gerber, J.S., Engstrom, P.M., Mueller, N.D., Brauman, K.A., Carlson, K.M.,Cassidy, E.S., Johnston, M., MacDonald, G.K., Ray, D.K. and Siebert, S. (2014) Leverage points for improving global food security and the environment. Science 345(6194), 325-328. [9] Wilsenach, J. and Loosdrecht, M.v. (2003) Impact of separate urine collection on wastewater treatment systems. Water SciTechnol 48(1), 103-110. [10] Wilsenach, J.A. and Van Loosdrecht, M.C.M. (2004) Effects of Separate Urine Collection on Advanced Nutrient Removal Processes. Environmental Science & Technology 38(4), 1208-830 1215. [11] Withers, P.J.A., Sylvester-Bradley, R., Jones, D.L., Healey, J.R. and Talboys, P.J. (2014) Feed the Crop Not the Soil: Rethinking Phosphorus Management in the Food Chain. Environmental Science & Technology 48(12), 6523-6530.
Paper ID: GRDCF010013
Published in: Conference : Reaching the Unreached: A Challenge to Technological Development (RUCTD2018)
Page(s): 88 - 94