• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.557-564
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• 2009

The objective of this study is to efficiently recover phosphorus contained in sewage sludge by a struvite-forming method. The performances were evaluated under various operating conditions(elution with the kind of acid, Mg-compound and temperature) in order to reach the optimum conditions of struvite-forming. As a result, as an elution solution, the elution efficiency of $H_2SO_4$ was 2.65 times higher than that of HCl. Also, the precipitation efficiency of struvite was the highest (97.4%) in case of using $MgCl_2{\cdot}6H_2O$ as Mg-compounds at $25^{\circ}C$. However, the side reaction by Fe, Al and Zn appeared in process of phosphorus recovery. To solve some problems caused by side reacton, large quantities of co-precipitation materials produced by side reaction were removed by precipitating phosphorus compounds in pH 7. Consequently, the recovery efficiency of phosphorus by a struviteforming method was 82.99%, and purity of the recovered struvite product was high.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.664-672
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• 2010

This study was performed to evaluate the feasibility of industrial by-products such as converter slag, olivine, red mud and fly ash as a seed crystal of struvite crystallization for the removal of highly concentrated $NH_4-N$ and $PO_4-P$. In the kinetic experiments, more than 90% of $NH_4-N$ and $PO_4-P$ was eliminated by struvite crystallization within 30 minutes of reaction time. The pH range in meta-stable region of struvite crystallization was found to be pH 7.0~9.0 under the Mg:N:P=1:1:1 equi-molar condition with 100 mg/L of $NH_4-N$. Total removal efficiencies of $NH_4-N$ and $PO_4-P$ by both struvite precipitation and crystallization were increased with the increase of pH. Removal efficiencies of $NH_4-N$ and $PO_4-P$ were significantly enhanced by struvite crystallization using industrial by-products as a seed crystal compared with those by struvite precipitation without seed crystal. Red mud, converter slag, olivine and fly ash enhanced the removal efficiencies of $NH_4-N$ by 40.9%, 37.7%, 28.4% and 16.4%, respectively. Removal efficiencies of $PO_4-P$ for converter slag, red mud, fly ash, olivine were increased by 3.7 times, 2.6 times, 72.4% and 68.0%, respectively. Converter slag and red mud showed higher feasibility as a seed crystal than others for the removal of highly concentrated $NH_4-N$ and $PO_4-P$. In particular, converter slag might have a high capacity of phosphorus removal.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1253-1264
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• 2015

This study assessed the fertilizing value of struvite deposit recovered from swine wastewater in cultivating Chinese cabbage. Struvite deposit was compared with commercial fertilizers: complex, organic and compost to evaluate the fertilizing effect of struvite deposit. Laboratory pot test obviously presented that the struvite deposit more facilitated the growth of Chinese cabbage than organic and compost fertilizers even though complex fertilizer was the most effective in growing Chinese cabbage. It was revealed that the growth rate of Chinese cabbage was simultaneously controlled by phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Also, the nutrients such as nitrogen (N), P, K, calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) were abundantly observed in the vegetable tissue of struvite pot. Specifically, P was the most abundant component in the vegetable tissue of struvite pot. Meanwhile, the utilization of struvite as a fertilizer led to the lower accumulation of chromium ($Cr^{6+}$) than other pots, except for compost fertilizer pots, and no detection of cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As) and nickel (Ni) in the Chinese cabbage. The experimental results proved that the optimum struvite dosage for the cultivation of Chinese cabbage was 2.0 g struvite/kg soil. On the basis of these findings, it was concluded that the struvite deposits recovered from swine wastewater were effective as a multi-nutrient fertilizer for Chinese cabbage cultivation.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.163-172
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• 2018

This study investigated the effect of organic matter on the precipitation of struvite and calcium phosphate for phosphorus recovery from synthetic dairy wastewater. Batch precipitation experiments were performed to precipitate phosphorus from solutions containing $PO_4{^{3-}}$ and $NH_4{^+}$ by the addition of $Mg^{2+}$ and $Ca^{2+}$, separately, at varying pH, Mg/P and Ca/P molar ratios, and organic matter concentrations. Soluble total organic solids exhibited more inhibition to precipitation due to potential interaction with other dissolved ionic species involved in phosphorus precipitation. Xylan with low total acidity only exhibited significant inhibition at very high concentrations in synthetic wastewater (at up to 100 g/L). No significant inhibition was observed for Mg and Ca precipitation at relatively lower concentrations (at up to 1.2 g/L). MINTEQ simulations show that dissolved organic matter (DOM) as humic substances (HS) can cause significant inhibition even at relatively low concentrations of 0.165 g/L fulvic acid. However, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis suggested that xylan altered the crystal structure of both precipitates and had caused the formation of smaller sized struvite crystals with slightly rougher surfaces This could be due to xylan molecules adhering on the surface of the crystal potentially blocking active sites and limit further crystal growth. Smaller particle sizes will have negative practical impact because of poorer settleability.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.879-886
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• 2010

This study investigated the removal characteristics of highly concentrated $NH_4$-N and $PO_4$-P by struvite crystallization using converter slag as a seed crystal. The optimal pH range for removal and recovery of $NH_4$-N and $PO_4$-P by struvite crystallization was measured to be 8.0~8.75, in which total removal efficiencies for $NH_4$-N and $PO_4$-P by struvite precipitation and crystallization were 34.3~61.0% and 91.0~96.2%, respectively. The maximum removal efficiencies for $NH_4$-N and $PO_4$-P by struvite crystallization were 29.4% at pH 8.5 and 65.1% at pH 8.0, respectively. The removal efficiency of $NH_4$-N by struvite crystallization decreased with increasing calcium ion concentration. The analysis results of SEM, EDS and XRD exhibited that $NH_4$-N and $PO_4$-P in meta-stable region of struvite crystallization could be eliminated through formation of magnesium ammonia phosphate (MAP) and hydroxyapatite (HAp) on seed crystals by struvite precipitation and crystallization.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.119-131
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• 2017

This study evaluated the feasibility of recovering and recycling nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from livestock excreta as struvite ($MgNH_4PO_4{\cdot}6H_2O$) in South Korea. Our experimental results showed that struvite precipitation was a very effective way to recover N and P from livestock excreta. Moreover, our study demonstrated that struvite precipitates from livestock excreta (SPL) contain higher concentrations of N, P, and magnesium (Mg) as compared to compost and liquid manure from livestock excreta. In addition, although SPL contain high concentrations of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), they meet the fertilizer criteria for concentrations of heavy metals. In South Korea, SPL cannot currently be used as a fertilizer due to legal constraints. Legal permission for SPL use would offer greater choice in livestock excreta management. In conclusion, recovery and recycling of N and P from livestock excreta as struvite can be an effective tool for managing nutrients in livestock excreta.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.12-18
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• 2017

Struvite precipitation has been proven to be an effective method in removing and recovering ammonia nitrogen (N) and phosphate phosphorus (P) from wastewater. In this study, effects of pH, molar ratios and pre-treatment of effluent of anaerobically digested swine wastewater were investigated to improve struvite crystallization. The magnesium : ammonium : phosphate ratio of 1.2 : 1.0 : 1.0 was found to be optimal, yet the molar ratio in the wastewater was 1 : 74.9 : 1.8. From the analysis, the optimum pH was between 8.0 and 9.0 for maximal phosphate P release and from 8.0 to 10.0 for maximal ammonia N and phosphate P removal from real wastewater. Analysis from Visual MINTEQ predicted the pH range of 7-11 for ammonia N and phosphate P removal and recovery as struvite. For pre-treatment, microwave pre-treatment was ineffective for phosphate P release but ultrasound pre-treatment showed up to 77.4% phosphate P release at 1,000 kJ/L of energy dose. Precipitates analysis showed that phosphorus and magnesium in the collected precipitate had almost same values as theoretical values, but the ammonia content was less than the theoretical value.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.138-143
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• 2007

This study goes in for the observation of the characteristics of nitrogen removal from swine wastewater by struvite crystallization. In addition, the struvite formation potential in supernatants after struvite crystallization was investigated. In the study for nitrogen removal by struvite crystallization, the effects of pH and molar ratio of magnesium (Mg) injected using bittern as Mg source were investigated. Also, the potential of struvite formation in the supernatant with amount of Mg added was carefully observed. As the results, the optimum pH in the removal of nitrogen was 8.8 and sludge volume was increased as pH was raised from 7 to 12 under the condition that the molar ratio of $Mg^{2+}$ to ${NH_4}^+$-N to ${PO_4}^{3-}$-P was 1:1:1. An optimum removal efficiency of ammonia-N was observed at 1 molar ratio of Mg to ${NH_4}^+$-N, showing no further increase at over 1 molar ratio and dramatical deterioration at under 1 molar ratio. However, the sludge volume was increased by increasing the molar ratio of Mg. In the experiments for the potential of struvite formation in the supernatants, initial -log([$Mg^{2+}$][${NH_4}^+$][${PO_4}^{3-}$]) value was much lower than $pK_{sp}$ and gradually reached $pK_{sp}$ at 2 days, as the molar ratio of Mg increased over 1.2. At 31 days, -log([$Mg^{2+}$][${NH_4}^+$][${PO_4}^{3-}$]) value was returned to the initial value. In addition, the supernatants had a potential precipitation of hydroxylapatite due to calcium contained in bittern, $K_2Mg(SO_4)_3$ and $K_3Na(SO_4)_2$ resulting from the decrease of sodium and potassium in supernatants formed after struvite crystallization as times go by. Based on the results, it appears that some retention time and proper dosage of Mg may be needed for the prevention of scale in pipe line.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.866-871
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• 2006

The nutrient recovery in phosphate crystallization process was investigated by using laboratory scale uptlow reactors, adopting sequencing batch type configuration. The industrial waste lime was used as potential cation source with magnesium salt($MgCl_2$) as control. The research was focused on its successful application in a novel integrated sludge treatment process, which is comprised of a high performance fermenter followed by a crystallization reactor. In the struvite precipitation test using synthetic wastewater first, which has the similar characteristics with the real fermentation effluent, the considerable nutrient removal(about 60%) in both ammonia and phosphate was observed within $0.5{\sim}1$ hr of retention time. The results also revealed that a minor amount(<5%) of ammonia stripping naturally occurred due to the alkaline(pH 9) characteristic in feed substrate. Stripping of $CO_2$ by air did not increase the struvite precipitation rate but it led to increased ammonia removal. In the second experiment using the fermentation effluent, the optimal dosage of magnesium salt for struvite precipitation was 0.86 g Mg $g^{-1}$ P, similar to the mass ratio of the struvite. The optimal dosage of waste lime was 0.3 g $L^{-1}$, resulting in 80% of $NH_4-N$ and 41% of $PO_4-P$ removal, at about 3 hrs of retention time. In the microscopic analysis, amorphous crystals were mainly observed in the settled solids with waste lime but prism-like crystals were observed with magnesium salt. Based on mass balance analysis for an integrated sludge treatment process(fermenter followed by crystallization reactor) for full-scale application(treatment capacity Q=158,880 $m^3\;d^{-1}$), nutrient recycle loading from the crystallization reactor effluent to the main liquid stream would be significantly reduced(0.13 g N and 0.19 g P per $m^3$ of wastewater, respectively). The results of the experiment reveal therefore that the reuse of waste lime, already an industrial waste, in a nutrient recovery system has various advantages such as higher economical benefits and sustainable treatment of the industrial waste.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.565-571
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• 2010

One of the disadvantages of flooding treatment for desalting from soils is that salts move to deep soils after flooding and at the end reaccumulate at the soil surface through capillary movements. This study was carried out to remove salts from soils in plastic film houses by a modified flooding method, drainage after flooding. The method successfully removed salts at the soil surface and salts did not move to the deep soil. Drained water containing N, P and K could be reused as fertilizer. By applying small amount of MgO, turbidity of water flooded decreased in 30 min by 95%. Struvite should be formed since the flooded water contain ammonia and phosphorous and their concentrations were decreased. This could be utilized as fertilizer which provides a slow-release source of phosphorus, magnesium and nitrogen that features low inherent water solubility.