Recovery of Phosphorus from Incineration of Sewage Sludge

Sammanfattning: The primary source of phosphorus, phosphate rock, is a non-renewable resource which is expected to get exhausted in the next 50 – 100 years. Sewage sludge in Sweden constitutes 25% of the annual phosphorus in the country, making it a potentially significant source for phosphorus recovery. The aim of this project was to identify the potential for phosphorus recovery from incineration of dewatered and digested sewage sludge in Fortum Värme’s power plants in Stockholm. The study was limited to two boilers located at Bristaverket, Stockholm - boiler B1, a bio-fired fluidized bed boiler and boiler B2, a waste-fired grate incinerator. A theoretical analysis for boiler B1 showed that it is possible to reach a concentration of 4.6% phosphorus in fly ash if sludge and recycled wood fuel are mixed in the ratio 48:52. A test program was executed in boiler B2 to burn up to 12.5% sludge with a mixture of household waste and industrial waste. A total of 755 tons of sludge was used over a period of three weeks during the test in boiler B2. The test was successful in terms of combustion and emissions. There was no increase in the emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and hydrochloric acid in the flue gas. Mercury emissions in the chimney increased with an increase in the share of sludge, nevertheless, the emission level was below the limit set by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. Decrease in the amount of unburnt materials in bottom ash and in the emission of carbon monoxide showed that the burning of fuel was more efficient with input of sludge. The maximum phosphorus concentration was 0.7% in both bottom ash and fly ash from boiler B2 and occurred at an input of 12.5% sludge. This concentration is close to the expected theoretical value, however it is not expected to be feasible to recover phosphorus at such a low concentration. The ashes were sent to Fortum Waste Solutions and Ragn-Sells for recovery of phosphorus, however the results are not included in this report due to time constraints for thesis study. In order to increase the concentration of phosphorus in the ashes, a system approach is recommended, for instance, recirculation of bottom ash into the incinerator.