Research Progress on the Technology of Phosphorus Release From Waste Activated Sludge

Abstract

As by-product of biological wastewater treatment,waste activated sludge (WAS) is mainly composed of active microorganisms,which contain a large amount of phosphorus sources.To promote the release of phosphorus from WAS and realize phosphorus recycling,this paper summarizes three kinds of phosphorus release treatment methods (i.e.,physical,chemical,and biological treatment methods),and analyzes the basic principles,suitable operating parameters,and advantages and disadvantages of each treatment method.The analysis results show that the physical and chemical treatment methods can achieve the effect of rapid phosphorus release,but the operating conditions of the physical method are relatively intense,and the chemical method has a large demand for reagents.The combination of anaerobic fermentation with physical or chemical methods is one of the ideal ways to improve phosphorus release and recovery efficiency.Finally,it is proposed that the focus of future research will be the chemical substances with mild properties or non-violent physical treatment methods in the phosphorus release process,as well as the impacts of the transformation of organic matter in sludge on the phosphorus release and recovery mechanism.

Keywords

• waste activated sludge
• phosphorus release
• physical treatment
• chemical treatment
• anaerobic fermentation