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Other resources can be recovered from waste water and sewage sludge e.g. cellulose, bioplastics and alginic acid (Kehrein, 2020). Case studies illustrate a wide variety of possible recovery options, as well as the technical solutions for resource recovery e.g. UWWTP Amsterdam West which considered the recovered products alginic acid, bioplastic, cellulose, phosphorus and biogas (van der Hoek et al, 2016). Blockers preventing wide-scale application of resource recovery is not the availability of technology, but the lack of a planning and design methodology to identify and deploy the most sustainable solutions in a given context.
Actions leading to a more circular and sustainable economy revolve around reduction, reuse and recycling. Bottlenecks which can hinder the successful implementation of these can be grouped into three categories – Economics and value chain, Environment and health; and Society and policy. Recovering the value from sewage sludge illustrates aspects of bottlenecks, such as process costs, resource quality, market value and competition, and utilisation and application in the value chain assessment. Societal acceptance of the reuse of treated sewage sludge and resources recovered from it - overcoming the “yuck” factor - is an area with significant challenges.
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When considering the application of recovered phosphorus, the contamination levels of imported phosphate rock (current source of inorganic P fertiliser) should also be considered, in particular the content of cadmium, see e.g. Nziguheba and Smolders 2008 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.09.031
Studies have shown lower levels of contamination in recovered phosphorus compared to conventional NPK fertiliser, see e.g. Tervahauta et al 2014 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2013.10.012
Please consider adding the underlines text:
"Other resources can be recovered from waste water and sewage sludge e.g. nitrogen, cellulose, bioplastics and alginic acid (Kehrein, 2020). "
"Blockers preventing wide-scale application of resource recovery is not the availability of technology, but the lack of a legislation encouraging circularity, planning and design methodology to identify and deploy the most sustainable solutions in a given context."
"Recovering the value from sewage sludge illustrates aspects of bottlenecks, such as process costs, resource quality, market value and competition, and utilisation and application in the value chain assessment. Legislation to create stronger markets and demands for recovered phosphorus and nitrogen is probably necessary. Societal acceptance of the reuse of treated sewage sludge and resources recovered from it - overcoming the “yuck” factor - is an area with significant challenges.