The Problem
While limited phosphorus supply is causing farmers to struggle with rising fertilizer prices, excess phosphorus is ending up in waterways and destroying ecosystems.
Water Contamination
Excess phosphorus accumulated in bodies of water leads to the growth of dense algal blooms that are deadly to aquatic ecosystems and harmful to human health. As little as 15 μg/L TP concentrations can cause negative complications in freshwater habitats.
Phosphorus Insecurity
Phosphorus is a crucial ingredient in fertilizer as it is essential for plant growth. Unfortunately, phosphorus is also a nonrenewable resource primarily obtained in centralized mining operations, dispersed in only a few geographic regions globally. This leads to volatile phosphorus price movements & environmentally-harmful mining practices.
Climate Change
When overabundant vegetation growth in eutrophic waters begins to break down, the decomposition process releases methane in the atmosphere, a greenhouse gas 28x more harmful than CO2. Planetary warming will also lead to increased occurrences of eutrophication, thus creating a reinforcing feedback loop.
Our Solution
We install phosphorus filtration technology into wastewater treatment plants to extract useable phosphorus for agricultural uses. The new improvements in the WWTP will cut down on eutrophication impacts to local bodies of water, reduce the global phosphorus shortage, cut costs for WWTPs and provide high-quality phosphorus at sustainably low prices.
Our Process
Phosphorus is adsorbed using an organic material to later be used in fertilizer.
Phosphorus Adsorption
Our first step is to adsorb phosphorus from wastewater to prevent eutrophication. This is done using an organic filter material that can later be directly applied as a component of fertilizer once fully saturated. Phosphorus content of the streams is monitored for further phosphorus concentration and effluent compliance.
Fertilizer Preparation
Once all of the binding units are fully saturated, the material is strained from the removal process and prepared as a fertilizer and soil amendment. The incorporation of carbon within the adsorption material increases the bioavailability of nutrients in the fertilizer for mineralization. This material is then added to a fertilizer matrix.
Fertilizer Deployment
The nature of our product makes it amenable to apply with any standard fertilizer spreader. The carbon component results in a slow release of the phosphorus allowing continual uptake of the nutrients by the crops over an extended period of time.
About HydroPhos
We are a team dedicated to being at the forefront of nutrient recovery and reclamation. HydroPhos Solutions first began as an undergraduate dorm-room idea and has grown into a well-rounded team passionate about closing the phosphorus loop. Our products offers new improvements in wastewater treatment that will cut down on negative eutrophication impacts to local bodies of water, reduce the global phosphorus shortage, cut costs for WWTPs, provide high-quality phosphorus at sustainably low prices, and generate a profit for our company.