{"id":29289,"date":"2015-10-14T07:02:55","date_gmt":"2015-10-14T05:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=29289"},"modified":"2015-10-12T17:34:42","modified_gmt":"2015-10-12T15:34:42","slug":"valuable-phosphorus-from-sewage-sludge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/valuable-phosphorus-from-sewage-sludge\/","title":{"rendered":"Valuable phosphorus from sewage sludge"},"content":{"rendered":"

To further develop a new process to extract phosphorus from HTC-coal produced from municipal sewage sludge, the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) is supporting an AVA cleanphos pilot plant in Karlsruhe.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The AVA cleanphos process, based on hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC), has already been successfully tested in AVA-CO2<\/sub>\u2019s laboratories. It will now be tested at pilot scale for the next 12 months, in cooperation with the project partners \u2013 the University of Hohenheim and the project group for material cycles and resource strategy at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research. The project will demonstrate that with AVA cleanphos technology, recycling fertiliser with a high, plant-available nutrient content can be produced efficiently and cost-effectively from sewage sludge.<\/p>\n

For the industry, AVA cleanphos could be a breakthrough in phosphorus recovery, a requirement from an amendment to the Sewage Sludge Ordinance.\u00a0 The AVA cleanphos process has the potential to be more efficient and cost-effective than existing methods, as municipal sewage sludge is converted first into HTC-coal before the phosphate is isolated.\u00a0 This creates two products of commercial interest \u2013 a valuable fertiliser and phosphorus-free HTC-coal, which could be used as a substitute for brown or black coal in the future and lead to substantial CO2<\/sub> emissions savings.\u00a0 \u201cThe HTC process, in combination with the AVA cleanphos solution, paves the way for a useful, long-term application for sewage sludge\u201d, says Thomas Kl\u00e4usli, Chief Marketing Officer at AVA-CO2<\/sub>.<\/p>\n

For the agricultural sector, the method also offers new possibilities. \u201cAlthough sewage sludge contains a lot of valuable phosphate, there is a lot to be said against its use in agriculture.\u00a0 Sewage sludge can carry pathogenic substances and contains many heavy metals,\u201d says Prof. Dr. Andrea Kruse, agricultural technologist at the University of Hohenheim. \u201cMany existing phosphorus recovery technologies incinerate sewage sludge to extract the phosphorous from the ash and make fertiliser. However, these methods are more expensive and complicated than HTC.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phosphate is being mined in China, the US and Morocco, says Prof. Dr. Andrea Kruse: \u201cThese mines are being so exploited that they have to keep expanding deeper.\u00a0 The deeper the mining, the more heavy metals like uranium contaminate the phosphate and ending up with fertiliser, on the fields.\u00a0 Therefore, we need new phosphate sources. With the HTC-based AVA cleanphos technology, phosphorous can be made from sewage sludge.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project group at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research is also providing scientific support to the project and will provide detailed analysis in line with fertiliser regulations.<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

About AVA-CO2<\/sub><\/p>\n

Leading biotechnology company AVA-CO2<\/sub> uses hydrothermal processes to produce materials and energy from biomass.<\/p>\n

AVA-CO2<\/sub> provides a range of services, including a patented process for the large-scale production of bio-based platform chemical 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF).\u00a0 5-HMF is a renewable alternative to petro-based materials and is used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.\u00a0 AVA-CO2<\/sub>\u2019s subsidiary, AVA Biochem, already produces high-purity 5-HMF for the speciality chemicals markets.\u00a0 AVA-CO2<\/sub> is a leader in using hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) to efficiently dispose of sewage sludge and other organic residues and for producing high-performance carbons such as powdered activated carbon or carbon black.\u00a0 As a leader in hydrothermal carbonisation, the company has enabled the development of a proprietary process, \u2018AVA cleanphos\u2019, to recover phosphorous from carbonised biomass efficiently.<\/p>\n

A Swiss company, AVA-CO2<\/sub> is based in Zug, Switzerland and has subsidiaries in Switzerland and Germany.\u00a0 In October 2010, the world\u2018s first industrial-scale demonstration HTC plant opened in Karlsruhe, Germany.\u00a0 In February 2014, the world\u2019s first commercial plant for 5-HMF production, Biochem-1, was commissioned.<\/p>\n

About University of Hohenheim<\/h3>\n

Established in 1818 after a devastating famine, the University of Hohenheim conducts research to provide innovative solutions to pressing social issues. The University of Hohenheim teaches a range of subjects and it is the top German University for agricultural research and food sciences.\u00a0 The University has a strong profile in economics and communications as well as natural and social sciences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To further develop a new process to extract phosphorus from HTC-coal produced from municipal sewage sludge, the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) is supporting an AVA cleanphos pilot plant in Karlsruhe. The AVA cleanphos process, based on hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC), has already been successfully tested in AVA-CO2\u2019s laboratories. It will now be tested at pilot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","nova_meta_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[],"supplier":[9796,322,8273,282],"class_list":["post-29289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","supplier-ava-co2","supplier-deutsche-bundesstiftung-umwelt-dbu","supplier-fraunhofer-institut-fur-silicatforschung-isc","supplier-universitaet-hohenheim"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29289\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29289"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=29289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}