A comparative study of phosphorus recovery as struvite from cow and human urine

With increase in world population and demand, phosphorus minerals are being exploited for its application as a fertilizer. At the same time, nutrient-loaded wastewaters cause eutrophication and algal blooms in aquatic bodies. Struvite (MgNH4PO4·6H2O) crystallization can be a sustainable approach to...

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Published inMaterials today : proceedings Vol. 47; pp. 391 - 395
Main Authors Krishnamoorthy, Nageshwari, Arunachalam, Thirugnanam, Paramasivan, Balasubramanian
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Ltd 2021
Subjects
Characterization
Cow urine
Human urine
Phosphorus recovery
Struvite
Characterization
Phosphorus recovery
Struvite
Cow urine
Human urine
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Summary:With increase in world population and demand, phosphorus minerals are being exploited for its application as a fertilizer. At the same time, nutrient-loaded wastewaters cause eutrophication and algal blooms in aquatic bodies. Struvite (MgNH4PO4·6H2O) crystallization can be a sustainable approach to recover nutrients from effluents rich in magnesium, ammonium and phosphate for use as a slow-releasing fertilizer. In this regard, urine can be considered as an appropriate source for phosphorus recovery as struvite. This manuscript is a comparative study of struvite precipitation from cow and human urine. It deals with the variations in the physicochemical characteristics of urine and its effect on the quantity and quality of struvite. It was found that the phosphate recovery efficiencies were higher than 90% in both the cases. However, the struvite yield was almost twice in human urine (1.34 g/L) than cow urine (0.76 g/L). Further, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the crystallinity and molecular bonding of the struvite crystals.
ISSN:2214-7853
2214-7853
DOI:10.1016/j.matpr.2021.04.587