Assessment of nutrient fluxes and recovery for a small-scale agricultural waste management system

The efficiencies of removing or recovering nitrogen and phosphorus in widely implemented small-scale tubular anaerobic digesters are not well understood, as the technology is primarily promoted for its recovery of energy, not nutrients. The purpose of this study was to use nutrient mass balances to assess the fate of nitrogen and phosphorus in two tubular anaerobic digesters, specifically designed to digest animal manure, that were integrated with a conical batch reactor to precipitate struvite (MgNH4PO4) from the digester effluent. The field study showed that locally available products, bittern and soda ash, can be used as a magnesium source and for pH adjustment (respectively) in the struvite precipitation reactor. Results from the mass balances showed that PO43- and NH4+ were released from the manure during anaerobic digestion, increasing the concentrations of PO43- and NH4+ in the liquid phase (by 130% and 120%, respectively). Despite this increase in liquid-phase concentrations, average removals were 25% for total phosphorus and 4% for total nitrogen via sedimentation in the digesters. The digesters also removed an average of 87% of total suspended solids and 84% of chemical oxygen demand from the influent waste stream. During struvite precipitation, an average of 79% of PO43-P and 14% of NH4+-N was removed from the digester effluent. Harvested precipitate comprised (by mass) 9.9% Mg, 2.4% N, and 12.8% P, consistent with struvite formation. The treatment system offers dual benefits: improved sanitation and recovery of nutrients as a fertilizer that may also indirectly reduce surface water and groundwater degradation. Quantifying nutrient recovery from small-farm-generated agricultural waste and understanding recovery mechanisms can improve environmental management and facilitate progress toward the achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals by improving sanitation, promoting sustainable management of wastes and natural resources, improving food security, and supporting the ecological restoration of local agroecosystems.