Novel Bio-Based Adsorbents to Recover Phosphorus from Water
Phosphorus (P) is a biocritical element that is necessary for all biological growth. Accordingly, we mine it from the lithosphere for use in the agricultural fertilizers used to support global food production. However, rock P regenerates on geologic timescales, meaning that, like fossil fuels, P is essentially a nonrenewable resource. At the same time that we have too little P, we simultaneously have too much P. From this perspective, most freshwaters are P limited, meaning that the concentration of P controls biological growth. When present in excess concentrations, P can stimulate overgrowth of algae, which is called eutrophication. Eutrophication is a major water quality impairment in the U.S. It degrades waterbodies, thereby inhibiting value as a drinking water source, fishery, and recreational water. Thus, we can work towards closing the loop on the human phosphorus cycle by removing phosphorus from water/wastewater and recovering it in a form suitable for reuse as an agricultural fertilizer. Key areas of research in the phosphorus recovery arena include designing P-specific adsorbents, P recognition, and P utilization efficiency, among others.
This research project focuses on evaluating the efficacy of a novel bio-based adsorbent for phosphorus capture and controlled release (to facilitate recovery applications). It is funded by a National Science Foundation CAREER award (PI-Mayer).
RELATED GROUP PUBLICATIONS
Carey, D.E., Yang, Y., McNamara, P.J., Mayer, B.K. 2016. Recovery of agricultural nutrients from biorefineries. Bioresource Tech. In Press, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2016.02.093.
Williams, A.T., Zitomer, D.H., Mayer, B.K. 2015. Ion exchange-precipitation for nutrient recovery from dilute wastewaters. Env. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. 1:832-838.
Mayer, B.K., Gerrity, D., Rittmann, B.E., Reisinger, D., Brandt-Williams, S. 2013. Innovative strategies to achieve low total phosphorus concentrations in high water flows. Crit. Rev. Environ. Sci. Tech. 43:4:409-441.
Rittmann, B.E., Mayer, B.K., Westerhoff, P., Edwards, M. 2011. Capturing the lost phosphorus. Chemosphere. 84:846-853.
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