Biochar as a Carrier of Struvite Precipitation for Nitrogen and Phosphorus Recovery from Urine
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 10
Abstract
Struvite precipitation is a promising approach to recover nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). However, poor solid−liquid separation of struvite precipitation crystallization can significantly decrease resource recovery efficiency. This study systematically investigates the recovery of N and P from urine through a combination of biochar with struvite precipitation. The N and P recovery efficiencies reach 40%–50% and 99%, respectively, and are stable with four different types of biochar at an optimized pH of 9.0. A second-order kinetics model is demonstrated to describe the N and P recovery processes, which supports the further development of the promising resource recovery process. N and P recovery are enhanced via biochar adsorption and struvite precipitation, respectively. These results indicate that biochar, as a carrier of struvite precipitation to recover N and P from urine and as a slow-release fertilizer in agriculture, is feasible and practical.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank the National Important Water Program of China (20151820027) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51708326) for their support.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 10 • October 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 18, 2017
Accepted: Apr 30, 2018
Published online: Jul 25, 2018
Published in print: Oct 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Dec 25, 2018
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