Environmental Comparison of Recycling Phosphorus through Different Urine-Source Treatments

摘要

Phosphorus is a non-metallic element that is usually found in oxidized mineral form in nature. It is a key component of DNA, RNA, and of the phospholipids that compose all cell membranes. It is essential for plant growth and is a limiting nutrient for crop cultivation. To meet demands for agriculture, phosphorous rich minerals are mined and processed into phosphoric acid for use as fertilizer. Recent studies suggest that, at current consumption rates, the availability of traditionally mined phosphorous will begin to decline by 2030. Given increasing global population and the concomitant need for increased food production, a shortage of this critical fertilizer will have dire consequences. Alternative phosphorous production techniques exist; among these are a number of techniques for reclaiming phosphorous from urine. If these techniques are to be more widely used to ameliorate a potential phosphorous shortage, their economic and environmental impacts should be understood. To date, little work has been done to illuminate economic and environmental implications of available urine based phosphorous recovery systems. This paper will present a framework detailing a methodology by which these economic and environmental characteristics can be captured and compared. Preliminary results comparing the impacts of featured recovery systems are presented.