Phosphorus removal from wastewater applied to land

Abstract

Phosphorus pollution in waterways continues to pose both environmental and human health problems. Increased phosphorus levels in waterways promote algal blooms that have diverse environmental effects, including the blocking of sunlight to underwater organisms, and increased oxygen consumption resulting in dead zones. Additionally, toxic blue-green algae can lead to sickness or even death in humans and animals. While some current products have shown promising results in phosphorus removal from wastewater, the cost of such systems is very high and unrealistic for the majority of homeowners with on-lot systems. The more cost-effective alternative to biological or electrochemical removal of phosphorus may be by adsorption. This project will consider the theory of chemical adsorption in phosphorus removal, along with future lab tests to help later determine which adsorptive media will prove most effective. This research is timely as regulations are forthcoming as a result of legal challenges being filed in hopes of forcing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with several states (including Pennsylvania), to require enforceable permit limits on phosphorus pollution in waterways from wastewater treatment.