Pilot size matters: the case of a full scale pilot for P-recovery from digestate in Belgium

In Leuven, Belgium, a full-scale pilot plant to test P-recovery from digested municipal wastewater sludge was built in April 2013. This paper illustrates the value of using large-size pilot-plant by explaining the economic evaluation of the installation. The uncertainty analysis of the price per tonne of phosphorus (P) recovered on the basis of the information available during planning is compared with analyses after six months and then two years of operation. It is shown that the most sensitive of the economic model's parameters should determine the size of the pilot-plant.