A new research project developed by an engineer from the University of Aarhus was funded by the European Union. In particular, the project provides for the possibility to extract 100% phosphorus from waste materials such as manure and wastewater and to recover sustainable fuel.
This is a project that can have a major impact worldwide on the protection of the environment in relation to the management of liquid waste. Patrick Biller, a researcher at the engineering department of the Danish University, will try to achieve this by using advanced technology, including continuous hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL).
The result could lead to an almost total recovery of elements such as phosphorus and carbon from manure and wastewater. Carbon can be recovered in the form of biocrude, a liquid biofuel produced by the liquefaction process of biomass, also known as one of the possible oil substitutes in the future.
The end product of the processing, once the useful elements have been extracted, will only be represented by clean fresh water, hydrogen and CO2. Biller himself speaks of a “new exciting technology that will enable us to recover valuable phosphorus from otherwise difficult-to-manage waste.”
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