Sustainable Phosphorus Research Articles

Sustainable phosphorus recycling: A review of advanced recovery methods with a focus on hydrothermal humification technology and potential phosphorus resources in China for this method

AbstractThe management of phosphorus (P) resources is facing dual challenges mediated by human activities: the scarcity of bioavailable P in soil and the disposal of massive undeveloped P resources in waste streams. In China, large amounts of P resources remain unexploited, including crop straw (0.9 Tg/year), pig manure (1.1 Tg/year), sludges (0.2 Tg/year), faeces (0.5 Tg/year) and outbreaking algae (0.48 Tg/year). Traditional P recovery technologies, including precipitation, acidulation and thermochemistry technology (PAT) and enhanced biological phosphorus removal technology (EBPR), have shown limitations in P recovery from these biomass waste streams. Hydrothermal humification technology (HTH) is a promising new technology, capable of converting typical waste streams into phosphate fertilizer for green and sustainable development. We estimate that the amount of available P that HTH could potentially extract from straw, macroalgae waste and sludge totals 0.46 Tg/year. Accordingly, the consistent development of HTH for the recycling of waste P in biomass will effectively improve China's P cycle and relieve the absence of phosphate rock sources and environment pollution.

P-recovery versus current sewage sludge treatment policy in the Czech Republic and Japan

Phosphorus is an important element for agriculture and industry, but its deposits are not uniformly distributed. Countries that do not have primary sources are dependent on imports or regeneration from secondary materials. A widely available secondary source is sewage sludge. Used environmental standards govern sludge treatment, but its inclusion in the raw material policy is often missing. We focus on the Czech Republic (a European Union member) and Japan, countries without phosphorus deposits. Based on our analysis of sewage sludge flows, legislation, and technologies used, we aimed to evaluate approaches towards sustainable phosphorus policy. We figured out that in the Czech Republic, sludge application to soil continues due to legislation deregulation and thus, various pollutants enter the soil along with the sludge. In Japan, thermal treatment predominates, but ash is not processed, and phosphorus is irreversibly lost in landfills or construction. By not implementing a functional P-recovery policy, both countries lose more than 13 % replacement of phosphorus fertilisers from their sources.Graphical

Using bone char as phosphate recycling fertiliser: an analysis of the new EU Fertilising Products Regulation

BackgroundPhosphorus recycling is an important cornerstone of sustainable phosphorus management and required to establish a circular economy in line with the EU Green Deal. Animal bones contain phosphate which can be recovered and processed into bone char. Animal bone char has a fertiliser potential. In the past, the EU lacked measures to market these fertilisers on the internal market. With the adoption of the Fertilising Products Regulation in 2019, the EU sought to incentivise recycling fertiliser production. Against this backdrop, the aim of this paper is to first provide the key elements of the new regulation and to second assess the extent to which it enables marketing bone chars as fertilisers. To this end, a qualitative governance analysis is applied.ResultsResults show that the Fertilising Products Regulation closes an important regulatory gap by establishing the legal framework for diverse recycling fertilisers, including bone char fertilisers. However, a lengthy adoption process hinders the marketing of bone char fertilisers and contaminant limits require improvement.ConclusionsUltimately, the promotion and use of recycling fertilisers is a necessary but complementary approach for the circular economy. A comprehensive transformation of the sector is needed to align it with global environmental goals.

Transforming the European Union's phosphorus governance through holistic and intersectoral framings

This review paper presents a critical perspective on the transformation of phosphorus governance in the European Union to support food and environmental security, which are subject to systemic shocks. It presents three major limitations that act as constraints to this process: (1) the predominance of technical studies, which produce isolated meanings that fail to address the socio-political aspect of phosphorus management and cannot be translated into policy foresight; (2) approaches to change dominated by the linear resource efficiency paradigm narrowly confined within sectoral responses to system shocks; and (3) the constrained policy understanding of the circular economy, which hampers system change as phosphorus reuse is seen primarily as part of the biological cycle of the circular economy and does not advance critical perspectives. We argue that the siloed and heavy regulatory load related to phosphorus produces technocratic and incremental policy revisions, singular state-level approaches and reductionist prisms that exclude extraterritoriality. These exacerbate the inability of institutions to translate technical studies into policy foresight and counter the pervasiveness of linearity. Phosphorus requires instead a holistic and intersectoral governance object that is integrated with the multiple transition instruments on the policy-making agenda of the European Union. To achieve phosphorus sustainability and avoid the dependence on shocks for its self-renewal, phosphorus governance needs to overcome the technocratic incrementalism of individual sectors and adapt to alternative discursive framings that transcend the existing compartmentalization of its meanings. This would require disentangling phosphorus as a contested arena of controversial stakeholder priorities and selectively amplifying the discursive framings that can politicize and enhance its ubiquitous importance. While phosphorus has its unique properties, such an approach can be of relevance to other elements.

Advances for Improving Phosphorus Use Efficiency in Agriculture

An impending crisis is the continuous availability of phosphate fertilizers, which underlie global food production. The rock phosphate deposits on which the world depends are not only finite but many are polluted and many are located in geopolitically unstable locations, implying that significant changes will be required to maintain food supply for an increasing global population. There is no single solution, but a combination of phosphorus management measures is required not just to extend the life of the remaining non-renewable rock phosphate sources, but also to result in a more efficient, sustainable phosphorus cycle. Improving the effectiveness of fertilizer applications to agricultural land, as well as a better understanding of phosphorus cycling in soil-plant systems and the interplay between soil physics, chemistry and biology in conjunction with plant characteristics are among the solutions. The finite nature of rock phosphate supply and the development of other sources of phosphorus fertilizers is unavoidable. There are clear prospects and it is now critical to prioritize a concerted effort to increase phosphorus usage efficiency.

Recovery of calcium and sulphur from phosphogypsum with zero by-product generation using a preparative vertical-flow electrophoresis system

Phosphogypsum has been a longstanding issue that poses environmental risks and economic pressure on society. Realizing the recycling of this waste is essential for achieving sustainable phosphorus chemical industry. In order to tackle this problem, this study examined the potential of using a preparative vertical-flow electrophoresis (PVFE) system with supporting media to recover calcium and sulphur from phosphogypsum without producing any by-products. NaOH was used to convert phosphogypsum into slaked lime and Na2SO4, with a maximum leaching efficiency of 98.6 % achieved at a NaOH concentration of 2 mol/L and a molar ratio of sodium to sulfur of 2.1. The slaked lime obtained met the quality standards outlined in the Chinese national standard (HG/T 4120–2009). Electrophoresis separation of the resulting Na2SO4 demonstrated that the NaOH effluent output could reach the desired concentration for reusing in the treatment of phosphogypsum. The addition of a solid supporting media (quartz sands) is the key to achieving the separation of Na2SO4. After considering the economic benefits, the optimal electrophoresis conditions for separating Na2SO4 were determined to be a supply voltage of 10 V and HRT of 240 min. These findings offer a directed and practical solution for the economical and effective recycling of phosphogypsum in phosphorus chemical industry.

Enhanced electrochemically mediated calcium phosphate precipitation for phosphorus recovery simply by carbon felt barrier cathode

Phosphorus removal and recovery from wastewater is crucial for environmental pollution control and sustainable phosphorus fertilizer production. Electrochemical technologies are promising, but disadvantages like high energy consumption remain. Here, we improved the electrochemical system's performance by placing carbon felt in front of the cathode at a distance of 3 mm with a current density as low as 1 A/m2, which separated the reactor into two parts: near the cathode area and bulk solution. The phosphorus removal near the cathode can reach 75 % in 1 h, while it takes 8 h for the bulk solution to achieve 75 % removal efficiency. The main reason for the enhancement was the retention of OH− ions between the cathode and carbon felt with enriched calcium ions, providing an appropriate environment for calcium phosphate precipitation. The functional groups on the carbon felt surface were another reason for the retention of OH− ions. Furthermore, our results show that the carbon felt system has considerable stability under different mass transfer efficiencies. By adjusting the stirring rate, we could control the proportion of precipitation on the carbon felt or cathode, thereby reducing the scaling on the cathode and avoiding significantly reduced removal efficiency. A long-term continuous flow experiment also illustrated this. Interestingly, we observed that the phosphorus removal had a specific correlation with pH and fit an empirical formula. Therefore, we could estimate the removal efficiency by simply measuring the effluent pH of the solution after treatment. In treating real phosphorus-rich wastewater, the carbon felt system removed 63 %–87 % of 1500 mg/L P after 8 h to 48 h treatment at 20 A/m2, respectively, resulting in lower energy consumption (31 kWh/kg P, 8 h) compared to the system without carbon felt (48 kWh/kg P, 8 h). This study provides a simple yet efficient method for enhancing electrochemical phosphorus recovery.

Molecular transformation pathway and bioavailability of organic phosphorus in sewage sludge under vermicomposting

Phosphorus reclamation from sewage sludge is essential for sustainable phosphorus management, as large quantities of phosphorus afflux into wastewater treatment plants and are finally enriched in sewage sludge via phosphorus removal technologies. Meanwhile, vermicomposting is a cost-effective biotechnique for sludge stabilization. This work unveiled the molecular transformation pathway and bioavailability of organic phosphorus (OP) in sludge under vermicomposting with solution 31P NMR, FT-ICR MS and enzymatic hydrolysis assay. In conclusion, vermicomposting transformed OP in two stages. In stage I (day 0 to 14), macromolecule CHONP such as phospholipids, phosphoproteins and nucleic acid were decomposed into orthophosphate and high bioavailability OP including flavin mononucleotide, flavin mononucleotide hydrate and N6-isopentenyladenosine 5′-monophosphate under the action of earthworm intestinal flora. This resulted in the bioavailability of OP reaching a maximum of 13.58 mg/L on day 14. In stage II (day 14 to 28), the enzyme in vermicompost began to dominate the transformation of OP. Under the catalysis of phosphate, high bioavailability orthophosphate monoester was decomposed into orthophosphate. Nitrogen-containing aromatic OP polymerization produced humic acid-like OP under the catalysis of ligase. And phytic acid-like OP were produced under the catalysis of transferase. These led to the OP bioavailability decreasing to 5.60 mg/L on day 28. This work provides a new perspective on sludge phosphorus recovery and use.

Integrating the Fe2+/H2O2-strengite method in airlift reactor for phosphorus removal and recovery from organic phosphorus wastewater

Organic phosphorus (OP) pollution control and phosphorus resource recycling are essential for promoting ecological health and sustainable development. The development of an efficient strategy to remove and recover phosphorus from OP contaminations has garnered significant interest. In this study, we propose the integration of the Fe2+/H2O2-Strengite method in an airlift reactor (ALR) to enhance recovery product particle sizes and accelerate the settling process while achieving excellent phosphorus removal efficiency. In ALR, phosphorus is removed and recovered through the reaction with ferric salts, adsorption of hydrous ferric oxide, and flocculation of ferric salts. The unique liquid circulation within the ALR ensures a regular cyclic motion of product particles along the draft tube, promoting the agglomeration of microparticle into larger ones and reducing suspended microparticles. This internal circulation, combined with the presence of quartz as carriers, contributes to the production of recovery products with uniform particle sizes and enables a faster settling process. The resulting phosphorus recovery products consist of amorphous strengite analogue and goethite (FeOOH) mixed with phosphorus. Upon calcination, these products undergo transformation into crystalline FePO4 and Fe3PO7, thus facilitating phosphorus resource recycling. Notably, this high-performance phosphorus removal and recovery strategy for OP pollution yields valuable recovery products without causing secondary pollution, contribution to sustainable phosphorus resource management. This work offers valuable insights into addressing potentially competing challenges of resource depletion and environmental quality.

Jejunal microbiota of broilers fed varying levels of mineral phosphorus

Efforts to achieve sustainable phosphorus (P) inputs in broiler farming which meet the physiological demand of animals include nutritional intervention strategies that have the potential to modulate and utilize endogenous and microbiota-associated capacities. A temporal P conditioning strategy in broiler nutrition is promising as it induces endocrinal and transcriptional responses to maintain mineral homeostasis. In this context, the current study aims to evaluate the composition of the jejunal microbiota as a functional entity located at the main absorption site involved in nutrient metabolism. Starting from a medium or high P supply in the first weeks of life of broilers, a depletion strategy was applied at growth intervals from d 17 to 24 and d 25 to 37 to investigate the consequences on the composition of the jejunal microbiota. The results on fecal mineral P, calcium (Ca), and phytate contents showed that the diets applied to the depleted and non-depleted cohorts were effective. Microbial diversity in jejunum was represented by alpha diversity indices which appeared unaffected between dietary groups. However, chickens assigned to the dietary P depletion groups showed significantly higher abundances of Facklamia, Lachnospiraceae, and Ruminococcaceae compared to non-depleted control groups. Based on current knowledge of microbial function, these microorganisms make only a minor contribution to the birds' adaptive mechanism in the jejunum following P depletion. Microbial taxa such as Brevibacterium, Brachybacterium, and genera of the Staphylococcaceae family proliferated in a P-enriched environment and might be considered biomarkers for excessive P supply in commercial broiler chickens.

Biochar integrated reactive filtration of wastewater for P removal and recovery, micropollutant catalytic oxidation, and negative CO2 e: Process operation and mechanism.

Biochar (BC) use in water treatment is a promising approach that can simultaneously help address societal needs of clean water, food security, and climate change mitigation. However, novel BC water treatment technology approaches require operational testing in field pilot-scale scenarios to advance their technology readiness assessment. Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate the system performance of BC integrated into hydrous ferric oxide reactive filtration (Fe-BC-RF) with and without catalytic ozonation (CatOx) process in laboratory and field pilot-scale scenarios. For this investigation, Fe-BC-RF and Fe-CatOx-BC-RF pilot-scale trials were conducted on synthetic lake water variants and at three municipal water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) at process flows of 0.05 and 0.6L/s, respectively. Three native and two iron-modified BCs were used in these studies. The commercially available reactive filtration process (Fe-RF without BC) had 96%-98% total phosphorus (TP) removal from 0.075- and 0.22-mg/L TP, as orthophosphate process influent in these trials. With BC integration, phosphorus removal yielded 94%-98% with the same process-influent conditions. In WRRF field pilot-scale studies, the Fe-CatOx-BC-RF process removed 84%-99% of influent total phosphorus concentrations that varied from 0.12 to 8.1 mg/L. Nutrient analysis on BC showed that the recovered BC used in the pilot-scale studies had an increase in TP from its native concentration, with the Fe-amended BC showing better P recovery at 110% than its unmodified state, which was 16%. Lastly, the field WRRF Fe-CatOx-BC-RF process studies showed successful destructive removals at >90% for more than 20 detected micropollutants, thus addressing a critical human health and environmental water quality concern. The research demonstrated that integration of BC into Fe-CatOx-RF for micropollutant removal, disinfection, and nutrient recovery is an encouraging tertiary water treatment technology that can address sustainable phosphorus recycling needs and the potential for carbon-negative operation. PRACTITIONER POINTS: A pilot-scale hydrous ferric oxide reactive sand filtration process integrating biochar injection typically yields >90% total phosphorus removal to ultralow levels. Biochar, modified with iron, recovers phosphorus from wastewater, creating a P/N nutrient upcycled soil amendment. Addition of ozone to the process stream enables biochar-iron-ozone catalytic oxidation demonstrating typically excellent (>90%) micropollutant destructive removals for the compounds tested. A companion paper to this work explores life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) to explore biochar water treatment integrated reactive filtration impacts, costs, and readiness. Biochar use can aid in long-term carbon sequestration by reducing the carbon footprint of advanced water treatment in a dose-dependent manner, including enabling an overall carbon-negative process.

Enhanced phosphorus-fertilizer-use efficiency and sustainable phosphorus management with intercropping

Enhanced phosphorus-fertilizer-use efficiency and sustainable phosphorus management with intercropping

Sorbents for phosphorus recovery and reuse prepared from corn cob char and rice husk ash: A life cycle and cost assessment

This study compared the environmental impacts and cost of providing phosphorus fertilizer using the commercial fertilizer monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and three novel sorbents that had been exposed to phosphorus rich model animal wastewaters. The novel sorbents were corn cob chars amended with either Mg(OH)2 or bittern, and calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) synthesized from Ca(OH)2 and rice husk ash. Both Mg-chars had lower environmental impacts than MAP at all pH values, with major contributions from pyrolysis, farming, and Mg(OH)2 production. CSH had higher environmental impacts and cost than any other material due to its comparatively low solubility, meaning more of it was required to release a given mass of phosphorus. Mg-char (bittern) had the lowest environmental impacts and cost since it was derived from a natural Mg source (model seawater bittern) rather than a commercial chemical source. Mg-chars for phosphorus recovery and reuse could help achieve a more sustainable phosphorus cycle.

Global phosphorus cycling: The impact of international commercial trading and the path towards sustainable phosphorus management

Phosphorus is vital for global food production, but its use in commercial fertilizers has led to significant changes in the global P cycle. This has resulted in the depletion of phosphate rock deposits and increased eutrophication in lakes and oceans. While attempts have been made to quantify phosphorus flow at a country or regional level, there is still a lack of comprehensive understanding of how international commercial trading affects global phosphorus cycling over time. Through substance flow analysis, this research has found that the total global P flows through the five major P trade products have increased by around 5.4 Tg P between 2000 and 2019, with agricultural products trade having the fastest growth rate. The net P budget in the global trade of products changed among countries throughout these twenty years and relates to local natural resources and policies. Overall the global P flow has shifted from phosphate rock dominated structure to phosphate fertilizers and phosphoric acid dominated structure from 2000 to 2019, with centralized production reducing P resource losses during manufacturing. However, there are risks associated with P redistribution, including P resource shortages in certain countries/regions (e.g. Japan) and P pollutant accumulations in others (e.g. Brazil). These results highlight the importance of trade on the global phosphorus cycle and the need for both consuming and supplying countries/regions to work together to propose effective solutions for sustainable management of P in the future.

Responses of total, reactive and dissolved phosphorus pools and crop yields to long-term fertilization

Maintaining an appropriate soil phosphorus level is key to ensure sustainable phosphorus management for crop production and to minimise phosphorus losses to water bodies. However, the effects of long-term fertilization on different soil phosphorus pools, crop yields and phosphorus loss risk remain unclear. This requires insights into the responses of soil phosphorus pools, crop phosphorus uptake with related crop yields and phosphorus loss to long-term phosphorus inputs. Changes in four soil phosphorus pools (PCACL2, POLSEN, POX and PTOTAL, respectively) and crop yield responses to various fertilization rates were examined in a 29-year long-term phosphorus fertilization experiment in China. Results showed that the increase in the four soil phosphorus pools was proportional to the accumulated phosphorus surplus, i.e., the input minus uptake. POLSEN and POX increased linearly with continuous phosphorus application and peaked at a phosphorus accumulation near 3200 kg P ha−1. Beyond this threshold, continuous phosphorus application caused a gradual increase in PTOTAL and a linear increase in PCACL2, which implies an increasing risk for leaching. The POX pool accounted for 87% of the accumulated phosphorus surplus until soil phosphorus saturation occurred. The crop yields of wheat and maize responded clearly to changes in PTOTAL, POX, POLSEN and PCACL2, with POX explaining most of the yield variation. Furthermore, POX was highly correlated with PCACL2, being a risk indicator for phosphorus leaching. Given that POX explains best how much of phosphorus surplus accumulates in soil, the variation in crop yield, and the risk for P leaching, it can be used as a valuable and reliable indicator to manage phosphorus sustainably.

Sustainable phosphorus adsorption and recovery from aqueous solution by a novel recyclable Ca-PAC-CTS

Phosphorus removal has been explored for a long time, however sustainable phosphorus adsorption and recovery with adsorbents recycling is rarely reported. This work proposes a sustainable phosphorus recycling route with calcium-modified powdered activated carbon with chitosan (Ca-PAC-CTS). The morphology, functional groups and crystal structure of Ca-PAC-CTS were characterized. The maximum phosphorus adsorption capacity was 16.73 mg/g Ca-PAC-CTS with Langmuir model at 298 K. Stable phosphorus sorption on Ca-PAC-CTS could be observed at the large range of pH (4– 10) when coexisting with NO3−, SO42−, Cl− and F−, except HCO3−. 98.95 % The recovery of adsorbed phosphorus could get to 98.95 % using 0.05 M sulfuric acid solution, and the phosphate adsorption efficiency through Ca-PAC-CTS remained to be more than 80 % after five adsorption-desorption cycles, suggesting that Ca-PAC-CTS was one of the promising adsorbents for sustainable removal and recovery of phosphorus in aqueous solution.

New microalgae media formulated with completely recycled phosphorus originating from agricultural sidestreams

This study investigated the impact of struvite as a sustainable phosphorus source on the growth and phycocyanin production by the blue-green alga Arthrospira platensis. Three modified growth media were compared to the typical SAG-spirul culture media. CS(+) refers to the completely recycled struvite from bovine urine as a phosphate source, while S(-) and S(+) refer to commercially available struvite as a phosphate source. On media with (+), a pre-treatment was conducted to evaporate NH4, as it negatively affects cell growth and functions of the photosynthetic apparatus at high concentrations, and to release phosphate due to the low solubility of struvite in water. For each medium, three cultures were cultivated in Erlenmeyer flasks for a duration of 42 days. Results showed that no statistically significant negative effect of struvite was found on the growth rates. However, C-phycocyanin (CPC-P) in CS(+) and S(+) was significantly higher compared to CPC-P in untreated growth media. The study hypothesized that low concentrations of NH3 remaining after the pre-treatment of struvite could have a positive impact on phycocyanin accumulation, as an energy efficient and quick nitrogen source for A. platensis.

Reagentless electrochemically assisted desorption for selective phosphate recovery from wastewater: Proof of concept and mechanism

Adsorption is a promising technology for removing and recovering phosphorus (P) from wastewater. However, the chemical-intensive regeneration of adsorbents increases carbon emissions and introduces potential secondary pollution. Most existing approaches cannot achieve simultaneous P desorption and selective recovery. For this purpose, a new-type electrochemically assisted phosphate desorption and recovery (EPDR) process was investigated and developed for the efficient desorption and recovery of P and simultaneous regeneration of the adsorbent in situ. In the EPDR process, the adsorbent amorphous zirconium oxide (am-ZrO2) coated carbon felt (CF) was employed as a cathode in an anion-exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolysis cell for P adsorption/desorption and recovery. The P desorption and recovery efficiency from the adsorbent were over 90% at 3.5 V. It was found that the high concentration of OH– at the cathode surface derived from water splitting reaction and electrodialysis under the applied electric field was playing a critical role in the desorption process. Low concentrations of P in actual wastewater were effectively removed, concentrated and recovered under multiple adsorption–desorption cycles with easy-to-scale-up stacked EPDR. The nature of reagent-free, high efficiency and selectivity make EPDR the foundation for developing a cost-effective and green technology for sustainable phosphorus management.

What are stakeholder views and needs for achieving phosphorus sustainability?

Our society depends on the effective management of phosphorus (P). Phosphorus is a key component of agricultural fertilizers to improve crop yields, and also plays a critical role in many industrial processes and consumer products. In the past decade, there have been numerous calls for innovative approaches to manage P more sustainably, as it is a nonrenewable resource that can adversely impact aquatic ecosystems from runoff and inefficiencies in P use. To develop more sustainable solutions that will ultimately be adopted, diverse stakeholder perspectives must be recognized, including those in industry, government, academia, non-governmental organizations, and other civil groups. This study responds to this need by identifying stakeholder views, needs, concerns, and challenges regarding P sustainability. An online survey was developed and deployed to individuals identified as P sustainability experts and professionals in the U.S. and abroad. Based on responses from 96 stakeholder participants from a range of sectors, areas of expertise, and geographies, we found that the vast majority of stakeholders considered current P use to be unsustainable and were very concerned about the ability to manage P sustainably. Stakeholder participants did not distinguish between urgent and long-term challenges, and perceived financial and regulatory issues to be of greatest importance. Stakeholder participants expressed a range of needs to improve P management systems, including improved management practices, new technologies, enhanced regulations, and better approaches for engagement. Outcomes from this work can help inform future research, engagement, and policy priorities to ensure sustainable P management solutions based on stakeholder-identified perspectives and needs.

Effects of phosphorus fertilizers and phosphorus-solubilizing rhizosphere bacteria on soil fertility, phosphorus uptake, growth, and yield of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) cultivated on alluvial soil in dike

The low phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) and the high P fertilizer cost are reasons why it is necessary to find sustainable phosphorus (P) sources for sesame, in which bacteria are potential candidates. The aim of this study was to determine a level of the applied P fertilizer and P-solubilizing rhizosphere bacteria (PSRB) for the maximum growth and yield of sesame. A two-factor experiment was conducted in a completely randomized block design. The first factor (i) was the P fertilizer rate, including 0%, 50%, 75%, and 100% P of the recommended fertilizer rate (RFR); the other was (ii) the supplementation of the PSRB, including no supplemented bacteria, a single strain of Enterobacter asburiae ASD-56, ASD-15, or ASD-43, and the mixture of all the three strains, with five replications. The results revealed that fertilizing with 100% P of the RFR enhanced means of the plant height (5.4 cm), the number of capsules (4.4 capsules plant−1), the total P uptake (34.3 mg P pot−1), and the sesame seed yield (16.4 g pot−1) in comparison with the case with no P fertilizer. The supplementation of the E. asburiae ASD-56, ASD-15, and ASD-43 improved values of the soluble P in soil, the total P uptake in plants, and the seed yield at 82.6 mg P kg−1, 73.1 mg P pot−1, and 15.2 g pot−1, respectively, compared with 72.2 mg P kg−1, 45.5 mg P pot−1, and 10.6 g pot−1 in treatment with no supplemented bacteria. Individually or aggregately applying the three E. asburiae ASD-56, ASD-15, and ASD-43 strains not only reduced the average amount of the P fertilizer used by 25–50% P of the RFR but also increased the P uptake in plants by 8.50–36.9% and the average sesame seed yield by 2.94–58.7%, in comparison with those in the treatment fertilized with 100% P of the RFR. The mixture of the PSRB contributed to reducing 50% of the RFR, and increasing the yield by 43.4%.