Fertilizer Industry Wastewater Research Articles

Durability Assessment of Recycled Aggregate Geopolymer Concrete Mixed with Wastewater

The advancement of an environmentally friendly setting is complex due to the significant carbon footprint of cement, substantial construction and demolition waste, and large quantities of industrial waste wastewater. This study aims to increase building sustainability by analyzing the long-term durability of recycled aggregate geopolymer concrete (RGC) manufactured using four different wastewaters. To evaluate each wastewater’s effect on sulfuric acid resistance and chloride ion migration (CIM) at various curing times, RGC was used in place of fresh water in the tests. The results revealed that, when it came to acid attack, RGC made with fertilizer industry wastewater had the highest mass loss (41% higher compared to control concrete) and CIM (29% higher compared to control concrete). According to statistical studies, using wastewater from textile, fertilizer, and sugar firms did not substantially alter mass loss from acid attack or CIM.

Potential of aerobic granular sludge technology for domestic wastewater treatment of high ammonia from urea fertilizer industry

Fertilizer is the main element that has an essential role in the sector of agriculture. Urea fertilizer has a source of Nitrogen with 46.04%. Ammonia is a chemical complex that is used and produced from the processing of urea fertilizer. A specific domestic wastewater quality standard for industry explains that the maximum level of ammonia allowed in effluent water was 10 mg/l. In the urea fertilizer industry wastewater treatment results were found to be in the range of 19.49 - 42.4 mg/l. Activated sludge technology is considered fairly effective in wastewater treatment but requires a large amount of energy and additional land for handling excess sludge. From the disadvantages, it is necessary to conduct research related to the effectiveness of high ammonia wastewater treatment that is environmentally friendly. Aerobic granule is characterized by a compact and dense structure, high biomass residence time, resistance to shock loading and toxic compounds, and a high settling speed so that it can produce a compact reactor design. Aerobic granule allows ammonia removal to reach more than 97%. This article aims to review the potential of implementing the use of aerobic granular sludge technology for ammonia removal in the wastewater of the urea fertilizer industry.

Effect of recirculation and hydraulic loading rate on ammonium and phosphate recovery from fertilizer industry wastewater

This study aimed to determine the optimum recirculation ratio and hydraulic loading rate for the recovery process of ammonium and phosphate, and study the formation, morphology, and structure of struvite crystals. This study provides a crystallization method to treat fertilizer wastewater using a continuous system and recirculation, including a fluidized bed reactor (FBR). Ammonium and phosphate were recovered from fertilizer industry wastewater using a continuous FBR under different recirculation ratios (3, 6, and 9) and loading rates (0.39 L/min, 0.59 L/min, and 0.79 L/min). MgCl2 was used as the precipitant with a 1.5:1 molarity ratio [Mg2+]:[PO43−]. The results showed that 55.71% phosphate and 49.69% ammonium could be recovered at recirculation ratio and hydraulic loading rate were 9 and 0.39 L/min, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy-energy diffraction X-ray analysis showed that the formed crystals comprised 80% struvite. Further, a high recirculation ratio and low loading rate resulted in higher ammonium and phosphate recovery efficiencies. These results indicated that a long detention time of treated wastewater can increase the nutrient recovery.

Performance evaluation of moving bed bioreactor for simultaneous nitrification denitrification and phosphorus removal from simulated fertilizer industry wastewater.

With increasing demand for agricultural production, chemical fertilizers are now being intensively manufactured and used to provide readily available nutrients in larger quantities, which often leach out and contaminate the groundwater source. At the same time, effluents from fertilizer plants also pollute water bodies, when disposed of without proper treatment. The present study evaluates nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiencies in a single-stage aerobic moving bed bioreactor (MBBR) from diammonium phosphate(DAP)-spiked wastewater containing no organic carbon. To date, no similar study has been undertaken that treats fertilizer plant effluent or agricultural runoff without the aid of external carbon, where organic carbon ishypothesized to be supplied from endogenous degradation of biomass. Both denitrification and phosphorus removal occurs in the anoxic zones of deeper layers of the biofilm. The present investigation demonstrates the feasibility of the processes with the requirement of a two-stage MBBR for effective simultaneous nitrification, denitrification, and phosphorus removal (SNDPr) together with a polishing technology to bring down the phosphorus concentration within limits. A novel bio-carrier designed for efficient SND was used in the study, with a carrier filling ratio of 35% that supported the formation of deep biofilms creating anoxic zones in the inner surface. Identification of the bacterial species reflects the occurrence of simultaneous nitrification, denitrification, and phosphorous removal (SNDPr) in the reactor. A maximum ammonium nitrogen removal efficiency of 98% was recorded with 95% total nitrogen removal, 69% phosphorus removal, and 85% SND efficiency, indicating the applicability of the process with a tertiary phosphorus removal unit to lower the nutrient concentration of effluents prior to disposal.

Selecting suitable seed sludge for anammox enrichment: Role of influent characteristics and reactor operational conditions

The study investigated the suitability of three different sludge collected from diverse environments for anammox process establishment. Sludge was collected from SBR (S1) treating municipal wastewater, nitrification tank (S2), denitrification tank (S3) treating fertilizer industrial wastewater. The microbial community in the seed sludge was studied. The presence of anammox bacteria was detected only in seed sludge S2 treating high NH4+-N wastewater. Seed sludge S3 showed high abundance of denitrifiers due to NO3–-N and organic carbon rich environments in denitrification tank. The anammox start-up performances of sludge were assessed. S2 achieved start-up within 65 days whereas S1 and S3 showed longer start-up period of 79 and 93 days, respectively. S1, S2, S3 achieved nitrogen removal rate of 148.84 gN m-3day−1, 159.70 gNm-3day−1 and 120.90 gNm-3day−1, respectively. Influent NH4+-N, NO3–-N and organic carbon concentrations governed the abundance of anammox and denitrifying bacteria in seed sludge thereby impacting the anammox start-up.

Spatiotemporal Analysis of Water Quality Using Multivariate Statistical Techniques and the Water Quality Identification Index for the Qinhuai River Basin, East China

Monitoring water quality is indispensable for the identification of threats to water environment and later management of water resources. Accurate monitoring and assessment of water quality have been long-term challenges. In this study, multivariate statistical techniques (MST) and water quality identification index (WQII) were applied to analyze spatiotemporal variation in water quality and determine the major pollution sources in the Qinhuai River, East China. A rotated principal component analysis (PCA) identified three potential pollution sources during the wet season (mixed pollution, physicochemical, and nonpoint sources of nutrients) and the dry season (nutrient, primary environmental, and organic sources) and they explained 81.14% of the total variances in the wet season and 78.42% of total variances in the dry season. The result of redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that population density, urbanization, and wastewater discharge are the main sources of organic pollution, while agricultural fertilizer consumption and industrial wastewater discharge are the main sources of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. The water quality of the Qinhuai River basin was determined to be mainly Class III (slightly polluted) and Class IV (moderately polluted) based on WQII. Temporally, the change trend of WQII showed that water quality gradually deteriorated between 1990 and 2005, improved between 2006 and 2010, and then deteriorated again. Spatially, the WQII distribution map showed that areas with more developed urbanization were relatively more polluted. Our results show that MST and WQII are useful tools to help the public and decision makers to evaluate the water quality of aquatic environment.

Hydrolyzed olive cake as novel adsorbent for copper removal from fertilizer industry wastewater

Olive cake, a solid waste resulting of olive-oil industry, was recycled as an adsorbent material for the decontamination of real fertilizer industry wastewater. Particularly, adsorption behaviour of the system working with columns in series and the effect of flow rate on the removal of copper were studied. The material exhibited a good adsorption capacity. The best results were obtained by working with three columns, reaching an adsorption capacity at exhaustion time of 7.32 mg g−1. At lower flow rate, higher removal of copper was obtained. Different models were analyzed to fit breakthrough curves and determine characteristic parameters of the system. Among all mathematical models studied, Dose–Response model fitted better the experimental data. The effect of addition of packed-bed columns with commercial resins (Amberlite XAD-4 and Dowex MAC-3) was also evaluated. Amberlite XAD-4 showed better results than Dowex MAC-3 but not as good as hydrolyzed olive cake. For example, at an operating time of 120 min, copper concentration in the effluent was 3.4 mg/L and 5.5 mg/L when Amberlite XAD-4 and Dowex MAC-3 were used, respectively. For regeneration and reuse of adsorbent, hydrochloric acid was investigated as eluting agent. Four adsorption–desorption cycles were performed with 0.5 M HCl. The desorption curves showed a high desorption rate. Also, the desorption yield changed from 86% to 67.1% when adsorption–desorption cycles were conducted. Overall, results suggested that the studied adsorbent will be useful for future scale-up for the removal of copper (II) of fertilizer wastewater.

Demonstration of pilot-scale integrative treatment of nitrogenous industrial effluent for struvite and algal biomass production

Wastewater from fertilizer industries is rich in ammoniacal nitrogen and orthophosphates. The present study demonstrates the recovery of nutrients from fertilizer industry effluent in the form of microalgal biomass to produce various bioproducts. The study demonstrates the integration of pilot-scale struvite production from fertilizer industrial wastewater in air-agitated reactor to phycoremediation of residual wastewater. The parameters required for the production of high yield and better quality of struvite were optimized. The microalgal consortium was isolated from anaerobic plant digestate and adapted to tolerate 1000 mg L−1 of NH4-N using synthetic wastewater rich in NH4-N. Pilot-scale struvite production was carried out in the air-agitated reactor (1 m3 capacity) in batch mode and phycoremediation of residual effluent was carried out in tubular photobioreactor (200 L capacity) in fed batch mode. Pilot-scale struvite crystallization produced 60 kg of struvite from 1 m3 of effluent. During struvite precipitation, 2.96% of COD, 68.29% of NH4-N, and 96.38% of PO4-P were recovered. The residual effluent was further phycoremediated by the microalgal consortium. During phycoremediation, 62.68% of COD, 59.21% of NH4-N, and 68.57% of PO4-P were recovered in terms of microalgal biomass. Due to integration, 64.58% of COD, 87.31% of NH4-N, 89.0% of TKN, and 98.79% of PO4-P are recovered. The observed yield (g m−3 effluent) of biomass, lipids, ω-3 fatty acid, and biogas (L m−3 effluent) was 290, 56, 11.2, and 80 L, respectively. In brief, the integration of struvite production and microalgae cultivation can be used as an effective treatment system for fertilizer industry wastewater.

Electrodialytic Recovery of Ammonium and Phosphate Ions in Fertilizer Industry Wastewater by Using a Continuous-Flow Reactor

Electrodialytic Recovery of Ammonium and Phosphate Ions in Fertilizer Industry Wastewater by Using a Continuous-Flow Reactor

Removal of fluoride ion from fertilizer industry wastewater to recover ammonium and phosphate using a five-compartment electrodialysis system

Wastewater from the fertilizer industry contains high concentrations of ammonium and phosphate ions, up to 3,395 mg.L−1 and 12,725 mg.L−1, respectively. These ions can be recovered as struvite precipitates. However, 1,158 mg.L−1 of fluoride ions contained in the wastewater may influence the struvite formation. Therefore, experiments using a laboratory-scale of five-compartment electrodialysis batch reactor were performed to remove fluoride ion and subsequently recover ammonium and phosphate ions. Electrical currents of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.15 A were applied constantly to the electrodes. The initial pH of wastewater was adjusted to 5, 7, and 9. The highest removal of fluoride ion was obtained at 0.1 A, i.e. decreased to 376 mg.L−1 and 486 mg.L−1 at pH 5 and pH 7, respectively. At the same conditions, the final ammonium concentrations at pH 5 and 7 were 2,127 mg and 2,185 mg, respectively. Similarly, 7,878 mg and 10,669 mg phosphate ions were recovered at pH 5 and pH 7, respectively. The energy consumed for fluoride removal at pH 5 was higher than pH 7, i.e. 4 Wh.g−1 F− vs. 7 Wh.g−1 F−. Nevertheless, the suspended solid formation at pH 5 was higher than pH 7, suggesting that pH operational at 7 is preferable for application with less possibility of scaling formation.

Removal of Nitrogen and Phosphate from Fertilizer Industry Wastewater by Magnesium Ammonium Phosphate Formation and Electrochemical Treatment

Removal of Nitrogen and Phosphate from Fertilizer Industry Wastewater by Magnesium Ammonium Phosphate Formation and Electrochemical Treatment

Study of struvite crystallization from fertilizer industry wastewater by using fluidized bed reactor

The fertilizer industry produces wastewater containing 9815 mg/L of phosphates and 2558 mg/L of ammonium, which may cause eutrophication if untreated. Wastewater that contains a large amount of phosphate can become a potential source of phosphate which is depleting on a global scale. Fluidized bed reactors are an effective method of phosphate recovery by producing struvite crystals. This study evaluates the effects of the upflow velocity on the performance of the fluidized bed and analyzes the struvite that is recovered. The experiment was conducted in laboratory scale at room temperature. Fertilizer industry wastewater and MgCl2 were added into fluidized bed reactors at 0.014, 0.019, and 0.0024 m/s upflow velocity. The operating pH was 8.5±0.2. Inside the reactors was sand No. 30/60 that worked as a seed material. The result showed that fluidized bed reactors could recover phosphate up to 73% and ammonium up to 57% at 0.014 m/s upflow velocity. Increasing the upflow velocity at intervals of 0.005 m/s could decrease the phosphate recovery by 1-2% and ammonium by 3-4%. SEM-EDX analysis showed that products were attached to the seed material, which contained N, P, Mg, O, Ca, F, and Si as the main constituent elements. The recovered products contain 60.2% of struvite, which mainly works as a slow released fertilizer.

Spatial variability and temporal dynamics of HABs in Northeast China

The increasing severity and intensity of harmful algal blooms (HABs) are of great concern to public health and a threat to ecosystems and have become a global problem in recent decades. Most of the related studies in China have been focused on low-latitude areas, such as Lake Taihu, Chaohu, and Dianchi. However, little attention has been devoted to algal blooms in Northeast China. As a significant Chinese commodity grain production base, the non-point source pollution deteriorated along with the grain production increasing year by year. In fact, the HABs in the little researched Northeast China were exceedingly serious. From 1982 to 2016, there was a total of 271 out of 2186 feasible Landsat images found HABs. The annual total frequencies of the detected HABs increased in fluctuation from 0 in 1982 to 11 times in 2016, and the highest frequency was observed twice, in 2010 and 2014, and was 29 times in both years. The number of lakes and reservoirs detected HABs and the annual sum of normalized HABs area also increased obviously. The tendency was almost coherent with the rising temperature, reduced wind speed, and declining atmospheric pressure. The R2 and p-value between the annual frequency and the three meteorological indices were (0.274, <0.005), (0.553, <0.0001), and (0.073, 0.126), respectively. Besides, as anthropogenic influence indicators in this paper, we selected fertilizer application amount, industrial wastewater and municipal sewage discharge amount, land use type in 1986, 2000, and 2010. We comprehensively considered lacustrine morphologies and hydrological hydrodynamics and analyzed the driving factors of the spatiotemporal distribution pattern of HABs in Northeast China.

Consortium of heterotrophic nitrification bacteria Bacillus sp. and its application on urea fertilizer industrial wastewater treatment

Aims: Industrial wastewater can be processed by physical, chemical and biological treatment. Most biological treatment have no negative impact on environment and can minimize more cost. The aim of this study was to reduce ammonia in urea fertilizer industrial wastewater by Bacillus bacterial consortium. This strategy tried to develop biological processing of ammonia in wastewater with nitrification process. Methodology and results: Bacterial consortium consisted of three isolates: isolate W1.6 identified as Bacillus sp. A16ZZ, isolate W2.5 identified as Bacillus sp. BNPK-13, and isolate S2.6 identified as B. cereus strain CP1. Consortium culture was made based on shortest generation time on each isolate in order to be in exponential phase when it was used. Bacterial consortium was able to decrease ammonia concentration in wastewater seven days after incubation. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: Consortium of heterotrophic nitrification works optimally with concentration of 350 mg/L ammonia and decrease 96.28%. This consortium has potency to be developed as alternative biological agent in reducing ammonia compounds in high-concentrated urea fertilizer industrial wastewater.

Electrodialytic removal of fluoride and calcium ions to recover phosphate from fertilizer industry wastewater

Abstract The fertilizer industry generates wastewater rich in phosphate and fluoride content, with concentration as high as 4540 and 9720 mg L −1 , respectively. The untreated wastewater may enhance the growth of algae, promote eutrophication, and create serious effects on environmental health and aquatic life. Therefore, this wastewater has to be treated before releasing into the environment. This study evaluates the performance of a three-compartment electrodialysis reactor to remove fluoride and calcium ions, and recover phosphate present in the wastewater, for possible further use in the fertilizer industry. The experiments were conducted in a batch system at room temperature. A 4 L of wastewater was electrodialysed using three different electrical current (i.e., 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0 A) and two different membrane surface areas (i.e., 100 and 200 cm 2 ). The highest removal of fluoride ions was up to 260 mg L −1 (2.7%) by applying 1 A of current and 100 cm 2 membrane area. No substantial increase of fluoride and calcium removal was observed for 200 cm 2 membrane area. Interestingly, the amount of the remaining phosphate was high (i.e., only 1% removal), implying a very efficient recovery in the feed. The energy required for fluoride ion transfer was much lower than for phosphate ion, i.e., up to 6 vs. 0.12 mol kWh −1 , suggesting that a higher removal of fluoride can possibly be achieved by limiting migration of phosphate ion through the membrane.

Biosorption Kinetics of Heavy Metals from Fertilizer Industrial Waste Water Using Groundnut Husk Powder as an Adsorbent

Groundnut husk (GH) was used as an adsorbent to remove Mn2+, Zn2+ and Pb2+ ions from fertilizer industrial wastewater. FTIR-spectrum shows the participation of aromatic compounds (C=C), Aldehydes (C=O) and Alkenes (C=C) in adsorption due to their absence in the adsorbent after the process. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to examine the effect of adsorbent mass, pH and contact time on adsorption of Mn2+, Zn2+ and Pb2+ from fertilizer industrial waste water. The results showed that Mn2+, Pb2+ and Zn2+ attained maximum percentage removal of 61.62%, 99.93% and 100% at adsorbent dose of 50g, 60g and 20g respectively. However the maximum percentage removal of Mn2+ and Pb2+ was achieved at pH 6 for 80min. while that of Zn2+ was achieved at pH 3 for 60min. Langmuir biosorption isotherm provided the best fit for sorption of Mn2+ and Pb2+ using groundnut husk as indicated by their correlation coefficient ( ) of 0.558 and 0.441 hence the process was based on a physisorption mechanism. The kinetic studies showed that the biosorption process followed the pseudo-second order reaction order. This study has demonstrated that groundnut husk can be efficiently used as low cost alternative adsorbent for remediation of Mn2+, Zn2+ and Pb2+ from heavy metals contaminated wastewater.

Biosorption of Heavy Metals from Fertilizer Industrial Waste Water Using Rice Husk (RH) and Groundnut Husk (GH) Powder in a Packed Bed Bioreactor

Groundnut husk (GH) and Rice husk (RH) were used as adsorbents to remove Mn2+, Zn2+ and Pb2+ ions from fertilizer industrial waste water. Continuous adsorption experiment was conducted to examine the effect of adsorbent mass, pH, temperature and adsorbent combination on adsorption of Mn2+, Zn2+ and Pb2+ from fertilizer industrial waste water. The results showed that the adsorption of the metal ions was adsorbent mass, pH, and temperature dependent. The optimum adsorbent mass was 60 g, optimum pH was pH 5 and pH 6 and optimum temperature was 60°C for adsorption of heavy metal ions. The Langmuir biosorption isotherm provided the best fit for sorption of Mn2+, Zn2+ and Pb2+ using groundnut husk as indicated by their correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.998, 0.676 and 0.297 while the freundlich biosorption isotherm had the best fit using rice husk as indicated by their correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.332, 0.041 and 0.556 for Mn(II), Zn(II) and Pb (II) respectively. The study also showed that groundnut husk and rice husk can be efficiently used as low cost alternative for removal of Mn2+, Zn2+ and Pb2+.

Recovery of Struvite from Phosphorus Mineral Fertilizer Industry Wastewater in Continuous Jet Pump Crystallizer

Recovery of Struvite from Phosphorus Mineral Fertilizer Industry Wastewater in Continuous Jet Pump Crystallizer

Treatment of fertilizer industry wastewater by catalytic peroxidation process using copper-loaded SBA-15

The present study reports use of the catalytic peroxidation (CPO) method for treatment of actual fertilizer industry wastewater (FIW) by using copper-loaded Santa Barbara amorphous-15 (Cu/SBA-15) catalyst. FIW consists of toxic nitrogenous and phosphorus containing compounds that are not easily degraded by the conventional physicochemical and biological treatment methods. In the present study, Box–Behnken (BB) experimental design methodology was used for optimization of three independent parameters namely catalytic dose (m), initial pH (pHo), and H2O2 concentration. Maximum 83% COD removal was obtained at m = 4.5 g L−1, pHo = 9.2 and H2O2 concentration = 2.0 mL L−1. Wastewater and catalyst recovered at optimum treatment condition were characterized by various techniques. UV-visible and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) techniques were used for understanding the treatment mechanism. Textural and thermogravimetric (TGA/DTA) analysis were used for determining the characteristic of catalyst before and after treatment. The stability and performance of the Cu/SBA-15 catalyst was also determined by using the reusability tests.

Trade-off between mesophilic and thermophilic denitrification: Rates vs. sludge production, settleability and stability

The development of thermophilic nitrogen removal strategies will facilitate sustainable biological treatment of warm nitrogenous wastewaters. Thermophilic denitrification was extensively compared to mesophilic denitrification for the first time in this study. Two sequential batch reactors (SBR) at 34 °C and 55 °C were inoculated with mesophilic activated sludge (26 °C), fed with synthetic influent in a first phase. Subsequently, the carbon source was switched from acetate to molasses, whereas in a third phase, the nitrate source was fertilizer industry wastewater. The denitrifying sludge maintained its activity at 55 °C, resulting in an immediate process start-up, obtaining nitrogen removal rates higher than 500 mg N g−1 VSS d−1 in less than one week. Although the mesophilic SBR showed twice as high specific nitrogen removal rates, the maximum thermophilic denitrifying activity in this study was nearly 10 times higher than the activities reported thus far. The thermophilic SBR moreover had a 73% lower sludge volume index, a 45% lower sludge production and a higher resilience towards a change in carbon source compared with the mesophilic SBR. The higher resilience was potentially related to a higher microbial diversity and evenness of the thermophilic community at the end of the synthetic feeding period. The thermophilic microbial community showed a higher similarity over the different feeding periods implying a more stable community. Overall, this study showed the capability of mesophilic denitrifiers to maintain their activity after a large temperature increase. Existing mesophilic process systems with cooling for the treatment of warm wastewaters could thus efficiently be converted to thermophilic systems with low sludge production and good settling properties.