We investigated the optimum condition for the recovery of phosphorus as struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate) from activated sludge treated wastewater and evaluated the removal and recovery efficiencies of phosphorus through a crystallization reactor. A laboratory-scale test was performed in a MAP reactor, with a reactor volume of 33 liters and a processing capacity of 240 liters/day, by using artificial phosphorus water excluding variable factors such as solids from livestock wastewater. For the optimum condition, another laboratory-scale test and a full-scale test (reactor volume of 700 liters and processing capacity of 5 m
3/day) were performed by using activated sludge treated wastewater. The results of the examination with artificial phosphorus water showed a remarkable growth of MAP crystals in the range of pH 8.5 to 8.6 and Mg/P ratio of 1.5, and a recovery rate of more than 70%. For the results of full-scale and laboratory-scale tests using activated sludge treated wastewater in a reactor condition of pH 8.5 to 8.6 and Mg/P ratio of 1.5, total and soluble phosphorus in the effluent decreased remarkably compared with the influent, and the removal rate was more than 80%. The recovery rate using the activated sludge treated water was approximately 60% and lower than that using artificial phosphorus water. The amount of recovered struvite in the full-scale test for 43 days was 37.1 kg and for particle sizes of more than 0.2 mm, which could be separated with solid-liquid separator, the amount was 18.2 kg and approximately 50%.
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