Abstract
As global phosphorus (P) stores rapidly decline, P fed algal blooms continue to threaten critical freshwater resources across the globe. In the Midwestern United States (US), particularly the Corn Belt, biorefineries could play a key role in addressing this issue. By recovering P from the byproducts of ethanol production these facilities could reduce the P content of distillers grain feed, thereby reducing P excreted in manures. This process could potentially divert P away from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and toward renewable P (rP) fertilizer production utilizing the recovered P. To foster the inclusion of P recovery incentives in state nutrient reduction strategies, this study elucidates the cascading benefits of rP recovery from corn biorefineries in watersheds across six Upper Midwestern states. Incentivizing P recovery in watersheds that contain both biorefineries and CAFOs could foster the production of 107,500 metric tons (MT) rP fertilizer while diverting 26,800MTP from CAFO wastes each year, nearly double the estimated P reduction potential for municipal wastewater in the analysis region. These estimates can inform nutrient reduction analysts and policymakers in determining P load reduction potential. To further guide incentive strategies, four priority watersheds are highlighted to illustrate P reduction and circularity typologies across the region.
Published Version
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