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Month: December 2023

The 101st Conference of Environment Ministers has called for prompt decisions on phosphorus recycling

The 101st Conference of Environment Ministers has called for prompt decisions on phosphorus recycling

The 101st Conference of Environment Ministers was held in Münster in November. The federal states are urging for increased funding for nature conservation and climate protection.

The Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling has prompted the federal states to urge the government to swiftly create a federal budget for 2024 that complies with the constitution. Additionally, there were concerns raised about potential cuts to nature conservation and climate protection.

The Sewage Sludge Ordinance’s requirement for phosphorus recovery by 2029 was also reaffirmed, with an emphasis on sustainable management, as phosphorus remains a critical raw material. Association President Kurth emphasised the need for dialogue between the federal government, federal states, and industry to address current challenges. Politicians are under great pressure to make quick decisions.

The association president praised the development of technologies in the field of phosphorus recycling.

Read more at https://www.umwelt.nrw.de/presse/detail/ergebnisse-der-101-umweltministerkonferenz-1701431976

Filming started for the short films of the RePhoR projects

Dreharbeiten für die Kurzfilme der RePhoR-Projekte gestartet

Das Drehteam von Hupp-Dobusch, Sophia Schüller (FiW e. V.) vom Begleitvorhaben TransPhoR sowie das Projektteam von VKD von der Pilotanlage in Markranstädt. © Hupp-Dobusch
The filming team from Hupp-Dobusch, Sophia Schüller (FiW e. V.) from the TransPhoR accompanying project and the VKD project team from the pilot plant in Markranstädt. © Hupp-Dobuschnik
Impressionen vom Dreh mit Drohnen in Magdeburg bei Carbotech. © FiW e. V.
Impressions from the shoot with drones in Magdeburg at Carbotech © FiW e. V.
Impressionen vom Dreh mit Drohnen in Magdeburg bei Carbotech. © FiW e. V.
Impressions from the shoot with drones in Magdeburg at Carbotech © FiW e. V.
Impressionen vom Dreh in Markranstädt. © FiW e. V.
Impressions from the shoot in Markranstädt © FiW e. V.
DreiSATS-Projektleiterin Claudyn Kidszun (Veolia Klärschlammverwertung Deutschland GmbH) erläutert die Hin-tergründe des Projekts. © Hupp-Dousch
DreiSATS project manager Claudyn Kidszun (Veolia Klärschlammverwertung Deutschland GmbH) explains the background to the project. © Hupp-Dousch

The accompanying project TransPhoR, coordinated by FiW, is producing a total of seven short films for the funded joint projects as part of the BMBF funding measure Regional Phosphorus Recycling (RePhoR). The DreiSATS project kicked things off on December 12 in Markranstädt and Magdeburg.

Public relations work is also becoming increasingly relevant in research projects. Particularly in the case of a topic that appears inaccessible at first glance, such as phosphorus recycling, which is still far from reaching the general public, it requires the use of a wide variety of media to generate enthusiasm for the project content – and thus also to justify the funding to the public. As a scientific support and transfer project, TransPhoR sees it as its task to strengthen communication between various stakeholders. To this end, a short film was produced in the summer with the background to the funding measure. In the coming months, short films will also be produced for the individual collaborative projects to provide an insight into the objectives and the outlook beyond the project duration.

The DreiSATS project made the start. On 12.12.23, our employee Sophia Schüller (TransPhoR) and the film crew from Hupp-Dobusch were able to visit the project’s test facility at Veolia Klärschlammverwertung Deutschland GmbH (VKD) in Markranstädt and the pulverized fuel furnace at Carbotechnik in Magdeburg. Project coordinator Claudyn Kidszun (VKD) and her team, Peter Schöfmann from Carbotechnik and Dr. Marc Lincke from Fraunhofer IKTS accompanied the filming of the project with the utmost commitment. We would like to thank them for their great and professional cooperation!

 

KlimaPhoNds takes 2nd place at the Göttingen Region Innovation Award

KlimaPhoNds takes 2nd place at the Göttingen Region Innovation Award

Mr. Hagenow (project partner EBA - head of Northeim wastewater treatment plant) and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Sievers. © WRG Wirtschaftsförderungen Region Göttingen GmbH

The RePhoR project came second out of more than 30 competitors in the “Companies with more than 20 employees” category of this year’s Göttingen Region Innovation Award.

The Göttingen Region Innovation Award has been presented by the Wirtschaftsförderung Region Göttingen (WRG) since 2003 in order to publicize and promote the region’s innovation potential. Since then, innovations from companies and start-ups have been honored annually with total prizes of 30,000 euros. In 2023, the city of Göttingen itself was an official cooperation partner of the competition for the first time.

The award ceremony took place on November 21 at the Deutsches Theater Göttingen as a festive gala.

KlimaPhoNds aims to recover recyclable materials at wastewater treatment plants in a climate-friendly and resource-saving way. The focus is on the recovery of the critical raw material phosphorus, but nitrogen and magnesium are also to be returned to the material cycle using the developed process. Phosphorus is recovered as magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) at the wastewater treatment plant, which is refined into high-quality phosphoric acid, ammonia water and magnesium chloride. In addition, the direct use of MAP as a recycling fertilizer is being investigated. The low-phosphate sewage sludge is dried using almost heat-neutral fluidized bed evaporation drying and can then be used as an energy source or as a material in the cement industry. The process was developed for sewage treatment plants with at least partial bio-P elimination; complete bio-P elimination is not absolutely necessary. The large-scale process demonstration will take place in full flow at the Northeim wastewater treatment plant. After the plant is expected to be commissioned in summer 2024, a one-year operating phase will demonstrate for the first time that phosphorus can be recovered economically and in compliance with the prescribed limit value at wastewater treatment plants.

You can find more information about the innovation prize at the following link.