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Struvite recovered from various types of wastewaters: Characteristics, soil leaching behaviour, and plant growth
Author(s) -
Ahmed Naveed,
Shim Soomin,
Won Seunggun,
Ra Changsix
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
land degradation and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1099-145X
pISSN - 1085-3278
DOI - 10.1002/ldr.3010
Subject(s) - struvite , leaching (pedology) , nutrient , chemistry , agronomy , nitrification , environmental science , environmental chemistry , phosphorus , nitrogen , soil water , biology , soil science , organic chemistry
Phosphorus (P) is a nonrenewable resource that can be recycled from high nutrient (N and P)‐containing wastewaters as struvite that has 5.7% N and 12.5% P, has lower heavy metal content, is sparingly soluble in water, is highly soluble in organic acids, is devoid of pathogens, is non‐toxic, and can leach nutrients very slowly for longer periods compared with highly soluble mineral fertilizers that leach nutrients very quickly. Leaching of nutrients from struvite can be enhanced by soil nitrification rates, powdered form, and mixing with soil, whereas leaching can be decreased by application on soil surface and granulation. Several plants such as maize, lettuce, ryegrass, and wheat were successfully grown using struvite with higher, comparable, or lesser growth and P uptake compared with commercial fertilizers. High growth and P uptake was synergistically complemented due to high Mg concentrations. As a whole, struvite can be a sustainable and renewable alternative to the mineral fertilizers.