Phosphorus (Polluter and Resource of the Future: Removal and Recovery from Wastewater)

OverviewPhosphorus has always been both a curse and a blessing. On the onehand, it is essential for all life forms and cannot be replaced byanything. On the other hand, wastewater treatment aims to minimizephosphorus concentrations in wastewater in order to minimize itsdischarge into rivers and lakes, where eutrophication caused byhigh phosphorus concentrations would lead to excessive plantgrowth. Phosphorus is extracted from rock phosphate deposits, whichare finite and non-renewable. And as the issue of resourceconservation is the focus of attention worldwide, phosphorus mustbe used sustainably. This includes recycling of secondaryphosphates, efficient extraction and treatment of raw phosphate aswell as its efficient use.The book starts from the peculiarity of the element phosphorusin Part I Phosphorus a special element?, Part II shows thepossibilities and limitations of the elimination of phosphorusduring the wastewater treatment. Current developments in phosphorusrecovery are presented in Part III Phosphorus Recovery -Technology, where also a large number of technology developmentsare presented in the context of case studies. Part IV “Assessment”shows impulses for future ways. The book concludes with an“Outlook” in Part V.The book is partially based on the book Phosphorus inEnvironmental Technology – Principles and Application, edited byEugina Valsami-Jones and published by IWA Publishing in 2004.Various new technologies have been developed since its release,particularly in the area of phosphorus recovery. Phosphorus:Polluter and Resource of the Future discusses all aspects of bothPhosphorus elimination and recovery and summarizes the latest stateof Phosphorus recovery technologies.Table of ContentsPrefacePart I – Phosphorus a Special Element?Part II – Elimination of Phosphorus from WastewaterPart IIIa – Phosphorus Recovery – TechnologyPart IIIb – Case StudiesPart IV – AssessmentPart V – Outlook