Reduction of Phosphorous from Wastewater Through Adsorption Processes Reusing Wood and Straw Ash Produced in Bioenergy Facilities

• Published in: Water, air, and soil pollution air, and soil pollution, 2020-03, Vol.231 (3), Article 128
• Main Authors: Carricondo Anton, Juan Manuel, Oliver-Villanueva, José Vicente, Turégano Pastor, José Vicente, Raigón Jiménez, Maria Dolores, González Romero, Juan Andrés, Mengual Cuquerella, Jesus
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adsorbents; Adsorption; Alternative energy sources; Ash removal; Ashes; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Barley straw; Biomass; Biomass burning; Biomass energy; Biomass energy production; Climate Change/Climate Change Impacts; Contamination; Dosage; Earth and Environmental Science; Endothermic reactions; Environment; Environmental management; Environmental monitoring; Feasibility studies; Fly ash; Hardwoods; Hydrogeology; Phosphorus; Phosphorus removal; Pollution control; Pretreatment; Purification; Renewable energy; Renewable resources; Resource management; Sewage; Sewage treatment; Sewage treatment plants; Soil Science & Conservation; Straw; Temperature; Wastewater; Wastewater treatment; Wastewater treatment plants; Water Quality/Water Pollution; Water utilities; Wheat straw; Wood
• ISSN: 0049-6979; 1573-2932
• DOI: 10.1007/s11270-020-04502-4

The objective of this research is to analyse the feasibility of reusing the fly ash waste, which is produced in biomass plants, during the production of renewable energy, for controlling phosphorus contamination in the wastewater being processed in sewage treatment plants. The research examines the efficiency of using different types of ash, obtained from representative biomass materials after combustion in an energy plant (paulownia wood, wheat straw and barley straw), in removing phosphorus from water. The ashes were respectively mixed with synthetic water, rich in phosphorus; then, using batch experiments, the effects that the pre-treatment of ash, adsorbent dosage, contact time and temperature had on the adsorption process were studied. The main results show that phosphorus adsorption by the tested ashes augments as temperature increases. Similarly, the adsorbed amount of phosphorus increases by increasing the dose of the adsorbent. In addition, the adsorption of phosphorus by these three materials has been described well by the Langmuir isotherm equation. It has been found that the removal process of phosphorus was endothermic. Finally, this study concludes that waste ash from biomass plants can be used to remove phosphorus from wastewater in sewage treatment plants.