Microbially mediated biological treatment of primary effluent from H2OPE fertiliser production

Challenge

Successfully producing a biofertiliser could have several benefits for Scotland, including supporting sustainable agriculture, waste management, supporting soil health and productivity through the introduction of essential nutrients in the biofertiliser, carbon sequestration and climate mitigations, and stimulating investment in production facilities, and creating jobs.  

SEM’s technology H2OPE process valorises organic waste to produce a valuable biofertiliser. This contributes to improved sustainability within the food sector, however, the wastewater produced by the process needs to be successfully treated to enable the process to be implemented at commercial scale.

Solution

IBioIC’s Feasibility Fund enabled SEM to work with Davide Dionisi at the University of Aberdeen, to determine the suitability of using biological wastewater treatment options for the H2OPE effluent and to assess whether the effluent meets local discharge regulations.

 SEM used their H2OPE system to generate effluent.  The University of Aberdeen then undertook a series of experiments to characterise the wastewater and assess the suitability of utilising biological wastewater treatments.

 The work included characterisation of the main environmental parameters; COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand), ammonia, and solids, and treatment of the same effluents in a lab-scale biological reactor. This simulates a biological wastewater treatment, with the aim of maximising the removal of COD and ammonia, and measuring the effect on other environmental parameters such as phosphorus and solids. It also aided in assessing whether the effluent from the investigated wastewater treatment meets the area’s discharge regulations.

Outcome

The project successfully validated the bio-treatability of the effluent and determined that the effluent would adhere to local discharge regulations. It also provided insight into the requirements and footprint of a full scale system. As a result of the success of this project, SEM and The University of Aberdeen are discussing collaboration on another project and SEM are looking for follow-on funding to scale the project.

 The project also enabled The University of Aberdeen to expand the experimental capability in the run of Sequential Batch Reactors (SBR) processes for biological wastewater treatment processes and to gain useful contacts and collaboration with industry. This in turn will enable the university to attract more funding and students which will both directly and indirectly benefit the Scottish economy and Scotland’s reputation in the area of wastewater treatment and waste valorisation.