The research group CALAGUA-UV, of the Department of Chemical Engineering of the Universitat de València, participates in PHERTILIZER-Circular system for the recovery and agronomic evaluation of phosphorus, a project of the Ministry of Science that aims to reuse waste as fertilizer generated in the Sewage Treatment Plants (WWTP).
The plan aims to develop a new fertilizer from a base of struvite mineral, a phosphate crystal. In addition, the program is aimed at the development of operating strategies and equipment and infrastructure that allow the recovery of phosphorus from wastewater, as well as the economic and environmental validation of it.
“The project shows an innovative research and development approach, of a multidisciplinary nature and of high scientific quality that serves the business objective of developing a new fertilizer with recycled nutrients and a decision-making system on fertilization strategies”, says Alberto Bouzas, professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Valencia and representative of the CALAGUA-UV group at PHERTILIZER.
The new fertilizer combines struvite, extracted from organic and inorganic phosphorus associated with the primary and secondary muds generated in the WWTP, with complex fertilizers of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. With it, a more sustainable use of its resources will be promoted and will favour its subsequent task on a commercial scale.
In addition, work will be carried out in the field of agriculture through the development of a computer tool that simultaneously facilitates the sustainable use of water and sustainable fertilizers to the farmer.
Together with the University’s research group, they are also involved in the project the company Depuración de Aguas del Mediterráneo (DAM), coordinator of the project, the University of Navarra, the software and agricultural management company Hispatec, the Centre for Edaphology and Applied Biology of the Segura River (CEBAS-CSIC) and the fertilizer company Timac Agro.
The PHERTILIZER Project (RTC-2017-6049-2) is financed by the European Regional Development Funds (FEDER), the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and the State Research Agency. The thematic objective of the operational program is to promote technological development, innovation and quality research.
Annexes:
- Struvite sample.
- Equipment for the wastewater reuse process.
- Logo of the project and financial entities.
