IMPLEMENTATION OF NITROGEN RECOVERY AT WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS TO COMPLEMENT ARTIFICIAL FERTILISER PRODUCTION : An investigation of the nitrogen recovery potential, energy consumption and environmental impacts at Kungsängens wastewater treatment plant in Västerås, Sweden

As Kungsängens wastewater treatment plant is considering a move, it opens up a possibility to implement nitrogen recovery technologies that comply with current and future legislative requirements. Nitrogen recovery offers simultaneous treatment of wastewater and collection of concentrated ammonia products for fertiliser production. This can create a circular and sustainable solution by reduced energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen pollution. Despite the large amount of research that has been performed on this topic, practical use at wastewater treatment facilities in Sweden are still scarce. The aim of the degree project was to identify nitrogen recovery technologies and investigate their potential impact at a new Kungsängens wastewater treatment plant. A literature review provided different nitrogen technologies and concept scoring was used to rank and score them. Gas permeable membrane and ammonia stripping ranked the highest and both have the potential to be implemented at Kungsängens current or possible new site. Simulations were used to identify the change in energy consumption and change in effluent water quality related to the implementation of a nitrogen recovery technology. Calculations were performed to reach thequantities of nitrogen that could be recovered, and it was found that the nitrogen recovery potential was 0,2343 ton/d using gas permeable membrane, and 0,2750 ton/d using ammonia stripping. By replacing artificial fertilisers with recovered nitrogen, 7,95 kWh/kg N could be saved using gas permeable membrane and 2,76 kWh/kg N could be saved using ammonia stripping. The degree project also provides insight into European and Swedish lawconformity and predictability. Finally, a discussion of environmental impacts, potential for nitrogen recovery, nitrogen policies, and energy savings was conducted. It was concluded that nitrogen recovery can create benefits due to avoided nitrous oxide emissions, avoided production of precipitation chemicals and decreased energy consumption for aeration. Compared to artificial fertiliser produced using the Haber-Bosch method, it was determined that a significant reduction of carbon dioxide emissions could be reached