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Month: March 2024

Filming for AMPHORE: A visit to the Bottrop Sewage Treatment Plant

Filming for AMPHORE: A visit to the Bottrop Sewage Treatment Plant

© FiW e. V.
© FiW e. V.
© FiW e. V.
© FiW e. V.
© FiW e. V.
© FiW e. V.
© FiW e. V.
© FiW e. V.

On Wednesday, 20.03.24, it was time for RePhoR for the 4th time! This time we were able to visit the BMBF-funded joint project AMPHORE at the Bottrop sewage treatment plant. In bright sunshine, project coordinator Hanna Evers from the Ruhrverband stood in front of the camera and explained the course of the project as well as its goals and prospects.

As part of the BMBF funding programme RePhoR (Regional Phosphorus Recycling), the TransPhoR project is producing a total of seven short films about the joint projects. The films provide a lively insight into the different approaches of the projects.

We would like to thank the entire team on site for this great day of filming!

In the AMPHORE joint project, five water boards in North Rhine-Westphalia cooperate with the support of research partners, engineering offices and commercial enterprises. The size of the association with 139 sewage treatment plants and approx. 9% of the German sewage sludge production enables an innovative, region-wide management approach for sewage sludge as well as a targeted production and further treatment of ashes of different qualities. The part of the ashes that is more heavily contaminated with heavy metals is processed in a complex, wet-chemical recovery process with the aim of achieving extensive separation of pollutants and valuable substances by generating precisely fitting phosphoric acid qualities (purity, concentration) for regional customers. It is being examined whether ashes produced in a targeted manner with particularly low pollutant contents can be used in an alternative, possibly more cost-effective phosphorus recovery process. Due to the expected synergy and scale effects, significant advantages for composite solutions can be expected. In the AMPHORE project, therefore, public-law cooperation models are being examined and the cooperation of the participating water associations in the legal form of a limited liability company is being implemented as an example.

More information can be found on the RePhoR homepage at https://www.bmbf-rephor.de/en/joint-projects/amphore/ or on the project homepage https://www.ruhrverband.de/wissen/projekt-amphore/ .

P-Net-partner ISOE featured in a Deutschlandfunk Kultur report on sewage sludge recycling

P-Net with radio feature on Deutschlandfunk Kultur

© Studio_Iris, pixabay.com

On January 30, 2024, Deutschlandfunk Kultur (Dlf Kultur) published a radio report on the topic of “Sewage sludge – from waste to raw material”. Dr. Martina Winker from ISOE, a P-Net partner, explained important details on the process.

Sven Kästner visits the Ruhleben sewage treatment plant near Berlin, which treats and reuses the wastewater of around 2 million Berliners. Toilet, washing and street waste water is treated here. Stephan Natz from Berliner Wasserbetriebe explains how a sewage treatment plant works and what happens to the remaining sludge. This is fed into a secondary clarifier, where the water is removed from the sludge, and then burnt in the sludge incinerator.

Dr. Martina Winker from ISOE – Institute for Social-Ecological Research, a partner in the P-Net project, explained details on the nutrients within the sewage sludge. The report is available to listen to via the following link: https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/klaerschlamm-vom-abfall-zum-rohstoff-dlf-kultur-53f6db00-100.html

In recent years, processes that produce crystalline phosphorus products by means of precipitation and crystallisation have become established in the large-scale implementation of phosphorus recovery. P-Net is researching the open questions of this technology in order to make it fit for the entry into force of the amended Sewage Sludge Ordinance. The aim is to preserve the advantages of these plants in fertiliser production and to make them more widely available. The focus is on establishing a regional network for phosphorus recycling to strengthen this technology line (“struvite line”).

Public relations and science communication is becoming increasingly important in research projects. Especially for complex topics such as phosphorus recycling, which is still little known in the public eye, it is necessary to use different media to present the projects. With the increasing number of podcasts and podcast listeners, it makes sense to take the first steps in this direction of science communication with radio programmes. We congratulate the P-Net team on placing this important topic in such a prominent format!