Nutrients from Wastewater

CVORR will be demonstrated through its application into nutrient recovery and recycling within the UK agriculture and farming sector.  Despite being a net food exporter, the UK is reliant on Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium fertiliser imports of over 1 Mt/a.  Currently much of this value is dispersed into diffuse agricultural wastes rather than being retained in the soil with subsequent environmental impacts and economic losses being incurred.  Simultaneously, wastewater treatment plant and food and farming industry are the biggest producers of organic wastes and nutrient discharges into water bodies, many of which could potentially be used to replace fertiliser imports.

The CVORR case study will focus on Phosphate and Nitrogen as recyclable resources and study current and alternative strategies for their control and recovery at wastewater treatment plant, as well as exploring more effective routes for recycling bulky wastes such as animal manure, food waste and sewage sludge with the objective of mitigating the UK's reliance on imported fertilisers.