Patricia Gallo, MSc (Doktorandin)

Analyse zur Nutzung biologischer Schmutzwasseraufbereitungsanlagen als alternative Phosphorquelle

Exploring the use of treatment wetlands as alternative phosphorus sources

Wetland, Test Field University of Trier
Abb. / Fig. 1: Künstliche Fließrinne, Universität Trier // Wetland, Test Field University of Trier

Phosphorus (P) is an essential chemical element on Earth, since it is vital nutrient for the development of living things as well as it is crucial for soil fertility and crop growth. It is also a limited resource and cannot be synthesized artificially, it is obtained from mining. P comes from rocks and must be in the form of the trivalent phosphate ion, which is how most organisms can assimilate it. However, in surface waters, this nutrient in excess has turned an agent that destabilizes ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems such as wetlands and ponds have the ability to retain those surplus nutrients, and thus are frequently used (e.g. in remote areas) as simple and ecological treatment systems for the treatment of household waste waters. The objective of this project is to determine pathways, retention and assimilation of phosphorus in this type of aquatic systems by systematically analyzing the ecological, chemical and physical settings to identify optimum phosphorus uptake conditions and possible reuse in form of organic fertilizers.

2. Abbildung
Abb. / Fig. 2: Verhalten von Phosphat in der Fließrinne nach der Injektion von Monokaliumphosphat in vier Experimenten, Sommer 2019 // Behavior of Phosphate in the Wetland after the injection of Monopotassium Phosphate, in four experiments performed during the summer of 2019