Issue 6, 2012

Nutrient removal and energy production in a urine treatment process using magnesium ammonium phosphateprecipitation and a microbial fuelcell technique

Abstract

Urine pretreatment has attracted increasing interest as it is able to relieve the nitrogen and phosphorus overloading problems in municipal wastewater treatment plants. In this study, an integrated process, which combines magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) precipitation with a microbial fuel cell (MFC), is proposed for the recovery of a slow-release fertilizer and electricity from urine. In such a two-step process, both nitrogen and phosphorus are recovered through the MAP process, and organic matters in the urine are converted into electricity in the MFCs. With this integrated process, when the phosphorus recovery is maximized without a dose of PO43−–P in the MAP precipitation process, removal efficiencies for PO43–P and NH4+–N of 94.6% and 28.6%, respectively, were achieved with a chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 64.9% accompanied by a power output of 2.6 W m−3. Whereas removal efficiencies for PO43–P and NH4+–N of 42.6% and 40%, respectively, and a COD of 62.4% and power density of 0.9 W m−3 were obtained if simultaneous recovery of phosphorus and nitrogen was required through dosing with 620 mg L−1 of PO43−–P in the MAP process. This work provides a new sustainable approach for the efficient and cost-effective treatment of urine with the recovery of energy and resources.

Graphical abstract: Nutrient removal and energy production in a urine treatment process using magnesium ammonium phosphate precipitation and a microbial fuel cell technique

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
22 Sep 2011
Accepted
02 Dec 2011
First published
10 Jan 2012

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012,14, 1978-1984

Nutrient removal and energy production in a urine treatment process using magnesium ammonium phosphate precipitation and a microbial fuel cell technique

G. Zang, G. Sheng, W. Li, Z. Tong, R. J. Zeng, C. Shi and H. Yu, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012, 14, 1978 DOI: 10.1039/C2CP23402E

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