Phosphorus management is increasingly becoming a key component of treatment optimization and regulatory compliance at water reclamation facilities (WRFs). For society at large, phosphorus recovery and recycling has become an important issue to prevent degradation of waterways and depletion of a key element necessary for food security. To address these issues Germany has recently adopted vigorous regulations to require recovery activities at an accelerated pace. These regulations will spur development and implementation of technologies that recover phosphorus, particularly from biosolids incinerator ash. This paper will summarize the German approach covering: 1. Drivers for the regulations, including the dependency on imported phosphorus and environmental degradation from excess phosphorus in waterways. 2. A review of the regulations. 3. Impact of the regulations on solids treatment, including how mono-incineration of biosolids for most facilities is the most effective means to achieve compliance. 4. A survey of emerging technologies to recover phosphorus from incinerator ash, including the state of development. 5. Challenges in integrating recovered phosphorus into existing markets. 6. Implications for the North American market.
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