Plant Biology Colloquium | Evaluating struvite as an effective fertilizer recovered from electrochemical treatment of municipal wastewater, Nov. 3

The Plant Biology Colloquium series presents  Sudarshan Kharal discussing "Evaluating struvite as an effective fertilizer recovered from electrochemical treatment of municipal wastewater" on Friday, Nov. 3 ^, at 11:50 a.m. in Porter 104.

Kharal is a graduate student in Environmental and Plant Biology at Ohio University.

Abstract: The finite reserves of phosphorite, the primary mineral for production of phosphatic fertilizers, pose a risk to future food security. Struvite (MgNH ₄ PO ₄ .6H ₂ O) derived from municipal wastewater can be an effective substitute for conventional synthetic fertilizers obtained from phosphorite. This study, funded by the Dept. of Energy, aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of struvite recovered from municipal wastewater. Phosphorus (P) availability was assessed in the recovered struvite along with other elementals to detect any heavy metals. A soil incubation study was established to determine the availability of P in three soil types among the struvite and other commercial fertilizers. Soil extraction was done every two weeks using anion exchange membranes to assess readily soluble P as well as Mehlich-3 (M3) solution for less soluble P. The available P in the recovered struvite was nearly 15% and heavy metal concentration was negligible, similar to commercial fertilizers. Based on my findings, it can be inferred that incorporating recovered P from wastewater can be an effective, safe, and more sustainable option compared to solely relying on conventional fertilizers derived from phosphorite.