Model and experiment-based evaluation of seawater-based urine phosphorus recovery (SUPR) process

doi:10.1007/s11783-024-1901-7

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2024, Vol. 18

Issue (11) : 141 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-024-1901-7

Model and experiment-based evaluation of seawater-based urine phosphorus recovery (SUPR) process

Wen-Tao Tang^1,^2,³, Yihang Xiao³, Yang-Fan Deng², Yunkai TAN³, Guang-Hao Chen², Tianwei HAO^1,³(

)

¹. Zhuhai UM Science & Technology Research Institute, Zhuhai 519031, China
². Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Hong Kong 999077, China
³. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau, Macao 999078, China

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Abstract

● A simple and effective SUPR reactor was developed.

● Over 98% of P could be recovered without urine storage or chemical addition.

● Struvite with relatively high purity could be obtained.

● Increased urine dilution led to higher nitrification efficiency.

Leveraging seawater toilet flushing system in Hong Kong, China, a Seawater-based Urine Phosphorus Recovery (SUPR) process that integrates ureolysis and phosphorus (P) recovery was proposed in our earlier work. In this study, a thermodynamic model was applied to evaluate the effects of ureolysis and the seawater-to-urine mixing ratio (S/U ratio) on P precipitation in the SUPR system. The results suggested that effective P recovery was thermodynamically feasible across a wide range of S/U ratios, with elevated pH levels resulting from ureolysis being critical for P precipitation. Furthermore, a SUPR reactor was developed to validate this process. When the hydraulic retention time (HRT) exceeded 3 h and the S/U ratio was lower than 3:1, more than 98% of P could be recovered without urine storage, chemical dosage, or external mixing. Further decrease in the HRT and increase in S/U ratio caused flushing out of fine precipitates, resulting in a relatively low P recovery efficiency. However, this could be advantageous when downstream urine nitrification is implemented, as dilution of urine can alleviate the inhibitory effects of free ammonia and free nitrous acid, as well as overcome the P limitation problem, thus facilitating urine nitrification. Consequently, there is a trade-off between optimizing P recovery and nitrification efficiencies.

Keywords Phosphorus recovery Struvite Urine nitrification Source separation Seawater toilet flushing

Corresponding Author(s): Tianwei HAO

Issue Date: 20 September 2024

Cite this article:

Wen-Tao Tang,Yihang Xiao,Yang-Fan Deng, et al. Model and experiment-based evaluation of seawater-based urine phosphorus recovery (SUPR) process[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2024, 18(11): 141.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-024-1901-7
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2024/V18/I11/141

Tab.1 Summary of operational parameters and performance of the SUPR reactor

Fig.1 Predicted potential and measured efficiency of P precipitation, as well as possible precipitates in (A) FU-seawater mixtures and (B) UU-seawater mixtures with various urine fractions. Precipitates considered in the thermodynamic modeling includes struvite, ACP (Ca₃(PO₄)₂·xH₂O), DCPD (CaHPO₄·2H₂O), calcite (CaCO₃), and magnesite (MgCO₃).

Fig.2 Modeling the individual impacts of (A) total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN) and (B) pH on SIs of P precipitates in fresh urine-seawater mixtures. Potential precipitates include struvite, amorphous calcium phosphate (Ca₉(PO₄)₆?nH₂O, ACP), and dicalcium phosphate dehydrate (CaHPO₄?2H₂O, DCPD).

Fig.3 Effects of HRT and seawater-to-urine mixing ratio on SUPR performance: (A) Ureolysis as indicated by the increase of TAN and pH levels in the effluent; (B) P recovery as indicated by the decrease of TP in the effluent. The P recovery efficiency was determined by comparing TP concentration in the influent and effluent.

Fig.4 Characterization of precipitates collected during from six phases: (A) Average particle size and molar ratios of elements to P based on elemental analysis; (B) XRD diffractograms.

Fig.5 Model validation using the measured concentrations of nitrogen compounds obtained from 90 d operation of the urine nitrifying reactor (measured data, dot; and predicted profiles, line).

Fig.6 Model prediction of N compounds under different seawater-to-urine mixing ratios: (A) without P addition; (B) P addition at S/U ratios lower than 5:1.

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