Argonne scientists  publish report exploring nutrient capture from wastewater treatment plants

In Illinois, wastewater contains valuable nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus that can be captured and recycled as fertilizer. The water itself can be treated and reused as fresh water. Most wastewater treatment plants do not currently capture these valuable resources for reuse. Nevertheless, there is significant potential for reaping their benefits, according to scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Argonne’s National Laboratory.

Argonne scientists published a new report assessing the potential for recovering these resources from the roughly 15,000 U.S. municipal wastewater plants. Scientists hope to increase the use of resource recovery technologies in the U.S.

Researchers also examined how the potential for capturing these resources varies by region and assessed potential markets.

Results show that most wastewater resources are produced by very large treatment plants and that some resources can be redistributed based on the needs of specific regions. The study also shows that recovering wastewater resources is effective in curbing GHG emissions.