Nutrient recovery and valorisation from pig slurry liquid fraction with membrane technologies

Abstract

Livestock slurry has been reported to be a potential secondary raw material as it contains macronutrients ‑nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium-, which could be valorised as high-quality fertilizers if proper separation and concentration of valuable compounds is performed. In this work, pig slurry liquid fraction was assessed for nutrient recovery and valorisation as fertilizer. Some indicators were used to evaluate the performance of proposed train of technologies within the framework of circular economy. As ammonium and potassium species are highly soluble at the whole pH range, a study based on phosphate speciation at pH from 4 to 8 was assessed to improve the macronutrients recovery from the slurry, resulting in two different treatment trains at acidic and alkaline conditions. The acidic treatment system based on centrifugation, microfiltration and forward osmosis was applied to obtain a nutrient-rich liquid organic fertilizer containing 1.3 % N, 1.3 % P₂O₅ and 1.5 % K₂O. The alkaline path of valorisation was composed by centrifugation and stripping by using membrane contactors to produce an organic solid fertilizer -7.7 % N, 8,0 % P₂O₅ and 2.3 % K₂O-, ammonium sulphate solution -1.4 % N- and irrigation water. In terms of circularity indicators, 45.8 % of the initial water content and <50 % of contained nutrients were recovered - 28.3 % N, 43.5 % P₂O₅ and 46.6 % K₂O - in the acidic treatment resulting in 68.68 g fertilizer per kg of treated slurry. 75.1 % of water was recovered as irrigation water and 80.6 % N, 99.9 % P₂O₅, 83.4 % K₂O was valorised in the alkaline treatment, as 219.60 g fertilizer per kg of treated slurry. Treatment paths at acidic and alkaline conditions yield promising results for nutrients recovery and valorisation as the obtained products (nutrient rich organic fertilizer, solid soil amendment and ammonium sulphate solution) fulfil the European Regulation for fertilizers to be potentially used in crop fields.

Keywords: Circular economy; Fertilizers; Forward osmosis; Liquid pig slurry; Membrane contactors; Nutrients recovery.