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Wastewater recovered struvite: Quality assessment for heavy metals, PFAS, and microplastic
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Researchers assessed struvite — a phosphorus-rich fertilizer recovered from sewage — for contamination with heavy metals, PFAS (forever chemicals), and microplastics, finding that struvite produced in industrial wastewater equipment can exceed safe heavy metal limits. The findings raise concerns about whether recycled fertilizers could introduce pollutants into agricultural soils.
The transition to circular economy in the water sector includes an increased focus on the recovery of nutrients, such as phosphorous, present in various streams of the municipal sewage treatment plants. However, recovered nutrient-rich products, such as struvite, may contain unwanted impurities and micropollutants. The content of emerging contaminants in fertilizers is particularly dangerous from the point of view of toxic substances migration and its negative impact on the environment. Therefore, the aim of the presented research was to determine the content of the selected impurities and micropollutants in tested struvite precipitated in controlled laboratory conditions and in struvite naturally precipitated in technical equipment of large sewage treatment plant. The scope of the analyses included the content of heavy metals, PFAS compounds and microplastics. The laboratory derived struvite had complied with the relevant heavy metals and PFAS limits, whereas the technical struvite had a non-compliance for one of the heavy metals. The research results indicated the potential risk of struvite contamination with heavy metals and micropollutants.
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Researchers found that microplastics act as nucleation seeds that actually speed up struvite crystallization — a process used to recover phosphorus fertilizer from wastewater — while the organic compound humic acid slows it down and promotes formation of an undesirable mineral byproduct. The presence of both contaminants also altered the crystal structure and purity of the recovered struvite. This matters because wastewater increasingly contains microplastics, and if they contaminate recovered fertilizers, those microplastics could enter agricultural soils.
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Researchers analyzed microplastic content in sewage sludge-derived fertilizer collected in June and July, finding an average of ~460 mg of microplastics per 100 g of fertilizer with fragments and fibers predominating — raising concerns about agricultural land contamination from sewage sludge application.
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Researchers investigated how microplastics and dissolved organic matter affect the process of recovering phosphorus from wastewater through struvite crystallization. They found that microplastics actually sped up crystal formation by acting as nucleation seeds, while humic acid hindered the process. The study suggests that understanding these interactions is important for optimizing nutrient recovery from wastewater that contains emerging contaminants like microplastics.
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