Influence of Phosphorus Speciation on Its Chemical Removal from Reject Water from Dewatering of Municipal Sewage Sludge

The aim of the presented research was the assessment of phosphorus speciation impact on the precipitation of phosphorus in reject water using Ca(OH)(2). To achieve this, phosphorus speciation (organic and inorganic phosphorus in suspension and in dissolved form) in reject water that is produced during sludge dewatering, after methane digestion in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), was determined. This study covered the materials from four WWTPs with different compositions of feedstock for anaerobic digestion (AnD). In one, the AnD process of primary and secondary sludge was carried out without co-substrate, while in three others, co-substrate (waste from the agri-food industry and external waste-activated sludge and fats from industrial plants) was examined. The investigation was conducted in batch reactors using doses of Ca(OH)(2) ranging from 2500 to 5500 mg Ca/dm(3). The percentage of phosphorus forms determined in the raw reject water was similar, with the dominant form being soluble reactive phosphorus (SPR) (percentage from 87 to 96%). The small differences observed were dependent on the composition of the AnD feedstock. The results showed that, in all analysed wastewater, very high (exceeding 99.9%) phosphate phosphorus removal efficiencies were obtained using Ca(OH)(2) for short reaction times (t = 1 h). The efficiency of phosphate removal depended on pH but not on the forms of phosphorus in the analysed reject water.

Automated summary

The aim of this research was to assess the impact of phosphorus speciation on the precipitation of phosphorus in reject water using Ca(OH)(2). The study analyzed the phosphorus speciation in reject water from four wastewater treatment plants with different feedstock compositions. The results showed that using Ca(OH)(2) achieved very high phosphate phosphorus removal efficiencies (>99.9%) in all analyzed wastewater, regardless of the forms of phosphorus present.