Behavior of Phosphorus during Sewage Sludge Ozonation

ABSTRACT Since phosphorus (P) is a nonrenewable element essential for life, it is extremely important to understand its potential supply sources. This paper describes the behavior of P during the ozonation of waste activated sludge (WAS) as it is an important pool of P. Also, we investigated whether ozonation of WAS could be an effective method for both P recovery in solution and its bio- and plant-availability in solid residues based on the analysis by the Standards, Measurements, and Testing Program. The results showed that P was enriched in WAS at concentrations above 23 mg/g. Phosphorus transferred from the solid phase to the liquid phase, and the total P content in the liquid phase increased from 1.67 to 40.68 mg/L as the ozone dosage increased from 0 to 0.20 g O3/g MLSS. PO4 3–P was the main form of P in the liquid phase after ozonation, which is beneficial for P recovery. The P fraction analysis revealed that the released P mainly came from apatite P (AP) during ozonation. Additionally, P was more available in solid residues as the proportion of bio-available P (non-apatite inorganic P (NAIP) + organic P (OP)) improved from 73.6% in the raw WAS to 91.7% at an ozone dosage of 0.20 O3/g MLSS. In addition, the solid residues were suitable for plant availability at a moderate Fe/P ratio (0.91) after ozonation. Thus, ozonation is recommended as the preferable solution to achieve an advanced P supply in both the liquid phase and solid residues.