Achieving Low Effluent Total Phosphorus Concentration

The WERF Nutrient Removal Challenge has investigate the nutrient removal in wastewater treatment plants. Phosphorus research is reported here.Full scale performance data and special surveys have shown the fate of individual nutrient species during treatment. Soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) is efficiently removed with conventional chemical and biological treatment to low concentrations below 50 ug/L. with advanced treatment, the SRP can be reduced below 10 ug/L. Similarly, particulate phosphorus (pP) is effectively removed with solids separation. Soluble nonreactive phosphorus (SNRP) resists conventional treatment and persist in effluent. At high levels of phosphorus removal, the GHG production/P removed ratio increase by orders of magnitude.The bioavailable phosphorus (BAP), measured as algal growth response, depends on the phosphorus species. SRP represents the most available species and is a conservative estimate ot BAP. The water quality impacts of SNRP and pP are unclear, but algal growth is much slower.