Due to the depletion of mineral phosphorus resources there is an increasing demand for efficient phosphorus recovery technologies. In this study the potential of nanofiltration to recover phosphorus from pre-treated sewage sludge is investigated. The efficiency of three commercial nanofiltration membranes (Desal 5DK, NP030; MPF34) was tested using model solutions. Desal 5DK showed the best selectivity for phosphorus. A pH of lower than 1.5 was found to be most suitable. Desal 5DK was used on four different sewage sludge ash eluates and on one sewage sludge. In these experiments it was shown that a separation of phosphorus from undesired components such as heavy metals was possible with significant variations in the efficiency for the different ash and sludge types. Additionally the achievable product recovery was investigated with model solutions. A product recovery of 57.1% was attained for pH 1 and 41.4% for pH 1.5.
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Research Article|
April 01 2008
Potentials of using nanofiltration to recover phosphorus from sewage sludge
C. Niewersch;
1Department of Chemical Engineering, RWTH-Aachen University, Turmstraße 46, 52056, Aachen, Germany E-mail: niewersch@ivt.rwth-aachen.de
E-mail: niewersch@ivt.rwth-aachen.de
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C. N. Koh;
C. N. Koh
1Department of Chemical Engineering, RWTH-Aachen University, Turmstraße 46, 52056, Aachen, Germany E-mail: niewersch@ivt.rwth-aachen.de
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T. Wintgens;
T. Wintgens
1Department of Chemical Engineering, RWTH-Aachen University, Turmstraße 46, 52056, Aachen, Germany E-mail: niewersch@ivt.rwth-aachen.de
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T. Melin;
T. Melin
1Department of Chemical Engineering, RWTH-Aachen University, Turmstraße 46, 52056, Aachen, Germany E-mail: niewersch@ivt.rwth-aachen.de
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C. Schaum;
C. Schaum
2Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying, TU Darmstadt, IWAR Section of Wastewater technology, Petersenstraße 13, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany E-mail: c.schaum@iwar.bauing.tu-darmstadt.de
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P. Cornel
P. Cornel
2Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying, TU Darmstadt, IWAR Section of Wastewater technology, Petersenstraße 13, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany E-mail: c.schaum@iwar.bauing.tu-darmstadt.de
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Water Sci Technol (2008) 57 (5): 707–714.
Citation
C. Niewersch, C. N. Koh, T. Wintgens, T. Melin, C. Schaum, P. Cornel; Potentials of using nanofiltration to recover phosphorus from sewage sludge. Water Sci Technol 1 April 2008; 57 (5): 707–714. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2008.119
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