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German Phosphorus Platform DPP e. V. publishes new policy memorandum on phosphorus recovery

20. February 202423. February 2024

German Phosphorus Platform DPP e. V. publishes new policy memorandum on phosphorus recovery

The German Phosphorus Platform DPP e. V. has published a policy memorandum on phosphorus recovery. It analyzes and evaluates how Germany intends to recover phosphorus from sewage sludge by 2029 in order to make the use of resources more sustainable.

The German Phosphorus Platform DPP e. V. recently published its policy memorandum on phosphorus recovery 2023/24. This memorandum provides a thorough analysis of the pressing issues and presents concrete recommendations for action to enable phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge by 2029. By clearly identifying obstacles and recommending solutions, the DPP provides valuable insights for policy makers, industry stakeholders and the public.

A central concern of the memorandum is the link between recovery and use of phosphorus to ensure an efficient economic cycle. Issues such as the Fertilizer Ordinance and the status of waste in the Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management Act are addressed in order to improve the prospects of implementation.

The German Phosphorus Platform DPP e .V. sees the policy memorandum as a starting point for further dialog with various interest groups along the value chain. It offers itself as a constructive platform for discussing the theses and recommendations set out in the memorandum in an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral manner.

Further information and details on the DPP’s recommendations can be found on the website of the German Phosphorus Platform DPP e. V.: https://www.deutsche-phosphor-plattform.de/pressemitteilung-politikmemorandum-zur-phosphor-rueckgewinnung-2023-24-der-deutschen-phoshor-plattform-dpp-e-v/

RePhoR filming continues: P-Net in Brunswick

15. January 202416. February 2024

RePhoR filming continues: P-Net in Brunswick

P-Net project coordinator Dr. Thomas Dockhorn and Andreas Kolb from TU Brunswick © FiW e. V.

On location: Stefanie Meyer from Stadtentwässerung Braunschweig, Andreas Kolb and Prof. Thomas Dockhorn from TU Brunswick as well as the production team of Hupp-Dobusch and Sophia Schüller (FiW e. V.) from the accompanying project TransPhoR. © Hupp-Dobusch

RePhoR filming continues: this time at the P-Net joint project in Brunswick. After the great kick-off shoot last December at DreiSATS, we were able to continue last week together with the team from Hupp-Dobusch at the Steinhof sewage treatment plant in Brunswick. Together with the coordinator, the ISWW of the TU Braunschweig, and the Stadtentwässerung Braunschweig GmbH, the recordings took place last Tuesday in strong winds, including breakneck drone flights. The P-Net project is coordinated by the TU Brunswick. We would like to thank them for their great and professional cooperation!

As part of the BMBF funding measure RePhoR (Regional Phosphorus Recycling), the TransPhoR transfer 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.

In recent years, processes that produce crystalline phosphorus products by means of precipitation and crystallization have become established in the large-scale implementation of phosphorus recovery. P-Net is researching the unresolved issues of this technology in order to make it fit for the entry into force of the amended Sewage Sludge Ordinance. The advantages of these plants in fertilizer production are to be preserved and made more widely usable. The focus is on the establishment of a regional network for the recycling of phosphorus to strengthen this technology track (“Struvite track”). The project is coordinated by the ISWW of the TU Brunswickand is being carried out together with the partner institutions ISOE – Institute for Social-Ecological Research, Julius Kühn Institute (JKI), Abwasserverband Braunschweig (AVB), Stadtentwässerung Braunschweig GmbH (SE|BS), Abwasser- und Straßenreinigungsbetrieb Stadt Gifhorn (ASG), PFI-Planungsgemeinschaft GmbH & Co. KG and SF-Soepenberg GmbH.

More information can be found on the RePhoR homepage at https://www.bmbf-rephor.de/en/joint-projects/p-net/ or on the project homepage https://p-net.tech/.

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

13. December 202318. December 2023

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.

Filming started for the short films of the RePhoR projects

12. December 202320. December 2023

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 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

7. December 202312. December 2023

KlimaPhoNds takes 2nd place at the Göttingen Region Innovation Award

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.

Process engineering exchange on struvite precipitation

30. November 202315. February 2024

Process engineering exchange on struvite precipitation

The research project P-Net is planning the event “Struvite precipitation as an attractive variant of phosphorus recovery – An offer to exchange process engineering experience” on Thursday, February 22, 2024 at the Steinhof sewage treatment plant near Braunschweig.

With this event, the project P-Net would like to focus on the various possibilities of phosphorus digestion and its subsequent recovery via precipitation. Recently, there have been major steps in process engineering development in this area. These will be examined, classified and discussed together. In a joint discussion, we will discuss how these developments can be further supported and promoted with regard to process engineering issues, the products and markets concerned and also through joint lobbying and networking.

Registration is closed. Please find the program here. Contact information is pnet@isoe.de.

RePhoR at the 9th P-RÜCK congress

29. November 20235. December 2023

RePhoR at the 9th P-RÜCK congress

From November 22–23, 2023, the DWA-Landesverband Baden-Württemberg held the 9th congress “Phosphorus – A critical raw material with a future” in Stuttgart. The thematically diverse event addressed various aspects of phosphorus recycling on topics such as recycling management, strategies and concepts or phosphorus recovery processes. Dr. Roland Meyer presented the sustainability aspect of phosphorus recycling. The presentation specifically addressed the cross-cutting topic 2 “Sustainability assessment” of the BMBF funding measure RePhoR. RePhoR was already mentioned at the beginning of the congress in an introductory speech by Prof. Pinnekamp, which made it possible to introduce the project to a broad specialist audience.

6th RePhoR steering committee meeting in Frankfurt a. M.

9. November 20235. December 2023

6th RePhoR steering committee meeting in Frankfurt a. M.

On 09.11.23, the RePhoR steering committee meeting took place on the grounds of Industriepark Höchst in Frankfurt am Main. With the kind permission of the RePhoR joint project RePhoRM and the joint partner Infraserv Höchst, the group met in the old control room on the industrial site. Part of the day’s program included a tour of the RePhoRM pilot plant and Infraserv Höchst’s sewage sludge incineration plant.

The steering committee is used for cross-project networking between the research projects and for discussing overarching issues. Among other things, cross-cutting topics are defined on which all interested joint projects work together during the course of the funding measure, e. g. in workshops. In addition, joint activities are planned for the utilization and practical implementation of the project results and for public relations work. The steering committee is made up of the coordinators of the joint projects, the networking project and experts, e.g. from industry, associations, authorities and government departments. Representatives of the BMBF and the project sponsor also take part in the steering committee meetings, which take place up to every six months.

Statement of German Phosphorus Platform on discovered phosphate deposits in Norway

28. August 202318. September 2023

Statement of German Phosphorus Platform on discovered phosphate deposits in Norway

Various media have recently reported the discovery of huge phosphate deposits in Norway. The DPP e.V. has issued a statement on this matter.

The 2022 annual report of Norge Mining Limited announced the finding of 70 billion tons of phosphate rock.

The topic was rapidly taken up by various media, partly with the tenor that the previous import dependency of European countries, including Germany, is over. The German Phosphorus Platform (DPP) e.V. issued a statement in July, which was also taken up and discussed by the press. You can read the DPP’s statement here.

Regardless of all developments and findings still to come, the BMBF funding measure RePhoR supports the setting of the course for a sustainable recycling of existing phosphorus resources. As can be seen from the statement of DPP e.V., it is so far unclear within which period of time the occurrences could be economically degradable. Either way, however, even the reserves found are finite. Therefore, the large-scale implementation of P-recycling technologies still represents a sensible way forward.

Phosphorus recycling product struvite in a long-term test in Nettlingen near Hildesheim

8. August 202310. August 2023

Phosphorus recycling product struvite in a long-term test in Nettlingen near Hildesheim

Besichtigung des Dauerversuchs auf einem Praxisbetrieb in Nettlingen bei Hildesheim. © Elke Bloem, JKI — Tour of the permanent test on a practical farm in Nettlingen near Hildesheim. © Elke Bloem, JKI

The Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) is currently conducting field experiments with fertilisers made from the phosphorus recycling product struvite. JKI, a partner in the RePhoR collaborative project P-Net, recently invited visitors to view the permanent experiment on a practice farm in Nettlingen near Hildesheim – the magazine Beckmann Verlag GmbH & Co. KG (contractor) reported.

Overall, the long-term phosphorus (P) and magnesium fertilisation effect of struvite will be investigated over a period of nine years on the plots in Nettlingen. The aim is to enable the young plants to develop P through root activity. As the soil is already well supplied with P, only maintenance fertilisation will be applied. However, initial results show that struvite fertilisation enables the plant to extract phosphorus from the soil just as well as a water-soluble commercial fertiliser such as the widely used DAP.

The testing of the struvite fertiliser, which will be marketed under the brand name “Crystallo”, is part of the BMBF-funded research project “Establishment of a network for resource-efficient phosphorus recycling and management in the Harz and Heath region” (P-Net). The researchers are also investigating the market opportunities for struvite fertilisers. A key factor here is the packaging of the fertiliser in standardised quality. By setting up a struvite network, P-Net aims to contribute to the establishment of further developed, optimised and promising processes and measures for struvite upgrading at other locations on the national and international market.