Robustness and resilience of different solid-liquid separation technologies for tertiary phosphorus removal to low levels by coagulation

Date published

2025-04-25

Free to read from

2025-04-25

Supervisor/s

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Elsevier

Department

Type

Article

ISSN

0048-9697

Format

Citation

Murujew O, Wilson A, Vale P, et al., (2025) Robustness and resilience of different solid-liquid separation technologies for tertiary phosphorus removal to low levels by coagulation. Science of The Total Environment, Volume 974, April 2025, Article number 179170

Abstract

In this study, three tertiary solid separation technologies were assessed on their robustness and resilience against an effluent phosphorus target of <0.3 mg P/L at steady state and dynamic conditions. The ballasted flocculation system was found to be very robust at delivering the low P target. Alternatively, cloth filtration provided a more sustainable option for less strict consents of sub 0.5 mg P/L. The effluent from the membrane system was more variable but it was shown to meet the low consents even with increased phosphorus and solids content in the feed. A molar ratio of 1.37 Fe: P was shown to be sufficient to meet the P target at short contact times as with the ballasted flocculation process. It was highlighted that optimisation of up-stream flocculation can be a considerable factor for consistent performance. Overall, the study determined key attributes of the different technologies tested providing valuable insights for technology selection at full scale.

Description

Software Description

Software Language

Github

Keywords

4004 Chemical Engineering, 40 Engineering, Ballast, Cloth, Coagulation, Membrane, Phosphorus, Sand filter, Environmental Sciences

DOI

Rights

Attribution 4.0 International

Relationships

Relationships

Resources

Funder/s

Funding for this study was gratefully received by Severn Trent Water.