A comparative study of seed crystals for the phosphorus crystallization process

Nutrient removal and phosphorus recovery performances of a novel anaerobic-anoxic/nitrifying/induced crystallization process

An anaerobic-anoxic/nitrifying (A(2)N) two sludge process coupled with induced crystallization (IC) called A(2)N-IC process was developed for wastewater nutrient removal and phosphorus recovery. The performances of A(2)N-IC process in comparison with A(2)N process at different COD to phosphorus (COD/P) feeding ratios were investigated. The results indicated that A(2)N-IC achieved not only high and stable nutrient removal but also phosphorus recovery. Calcium phosphorus crystals were formed in the crystallization reactor in A(2)N-IC. Moreover, the incorporation of chemical induced crystallization improved biological phosphorus removal. In A(2)N-IC process, phosphorus removal efficiency was consistently maintained at 99.2%, whereas in A(2)N it decreased from 93.0% to 65.7% with the decrease of feeding COD/P ratio. The COD and ammonia removal efficiencies were regardless of feeding COD/P ratio in the two processes.

Recovery of phosphates from wastewater using converter slag: Kinetics analysis of a completely mixed phosphorus crystallization process

A phosphorus crystallization process for recovering phosphates was developed using a completely mixed reactor and powdered converter slag as a seed crystal. This completely mixed phosphorus crystallization process achieved a stable and high phosphorus recovery: the average PO4-P removal efficiency during 200 d of operation was 87%, with a range of 70-98%. The apparent volume of the slag doubled due to crystal growth during the long-term phosphorus-removal experiments. The Ca2+ concentration, slag dosage, and temperature were found to govern the phosphorus recovery system for a given condition of pH and hydraulic retention time. The equations for the rate constant and reaction order were obtained by evaluating the model parameters. The model developed in this study was observed to successfully simulate the behavior of effluent PO4-P in a completely mixed phosphorus crystallization reactor over a wide variety of operating conditions of temperature, Ca2+ concentration, and influent PO4-P. Model investigations of design factors suggest that the completely mixed phosphorus crystallization process with influent PO4-P concentrations of less than 10 mg l(-1) could ensure effluent PO4-P concentrations of less than 0.5 and 1.0 mg l(-1) during summer and winter in Korea, respectively.

Phosphorus removal characteristics in hydroxyapatite crystallization using converter slag

This study was performed to investigate the phosphorus removal characteristics in hydroxyapatite (HAP) crystallization using converter slag as a seed crystal and the usefulness of a slag column reactor system. The effects of alkalinity, and the isomorphic-substitutable presence of ionic magnesium, fluoride, and iron on HAP crystallization seeded with converter slag, were examined using a batch reactor system. The phosphorus removal efficiencies of the batch reactor system were found to increase with increases in the iron and fluoride ion concentrations, and to decrease with increases in the alkalinity and magnesium ion concentration. A column reactor system for HAP crystallization using converter slag was found to achieve high, stable levels of phosphorus elimination: the average PO4-P removal efficiency over 414 days of operation was 90.4%, in which the effluent phosphorus concentration was maintained at less than 0.5 mg/L under the appropriate phosphorus crystallization conditions. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of the crystalline material deposited on the seed particles exhibited peaks consistent with HAP. Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) images showed that finely distributed crystalline material was formed on the surfaces of the seed particles. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) mapping analysis revealed that the molar Ca/P composition ratio of the crystalline material was 1.72.