Pilot Testing of a High Efficiency Adsorbent System for Phosphorus Removal and Recovery From Municipal Wastewater Secondary Effluent

High efficiency adsorbent system using a newly high speed phosphorus adsorbent media for phosphorus removal and recovery was developed. Two pilot testings of the system were conducted for phosphorus removal and recovery from municipal wastewater secondary effluent. Firstly, the system was operated with a down flow sand filtration system introduced as pretreatment of the secondary effluent for 33 days. As the result, the Total phosphorus (TP) concentration of the pilot plant effluent remained in the range of 0.023 to 0.059 mg-P/L, while the TP concentration of the filtrated water with sand filtration varied a range of 0.10 to 3.7 mg-P/L. Secondly, in order to more decrease effluent TP concentration, the system was operated with a microfiltration system introduced to pre-treatment system for 23 days. The TP concentration of the pilot plant effluent remained in the range of 0.006 to 0.027 mg-P/L. Hence the microfiltration system brought lower concentration of the effluent TP. On the other hand, the contents of some elements and metals of the recovered phosphorus were also examined. As the results, the recovered phosphorus will be possible to utilize as an alternative for high quality phosphate ore.