Översikt över återvinning av fosfor och kväve från avlopp i nio utvalda länder

• There has been an increased focus on nutrients recycling specifically in Europe over the last years. This paper gives an overview of the situation in nine countries regarding status, policies and future perspectives in the area of phosphorus and nitrogen recycling from wastewater and sewage sludge. The study includes the situation in Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Netherlands, Great Britain, Norway, Finland and Canada. The information was received through interviews with national coordinators complemented with information from literature and other sources. The following topics were included:- Main management of sewage sludge and phosphorus extraction today- Expected future management of sewage sludge and phosphorus extraction, 5-10 years ahead- Experiences of nitrogen extraction from sewage- Experiences of source separated sewage systems- National targets, regulations and financial instruments to promote nutrients recycling from sewage- Ongoing research, development and innovation activitiesFrom the compilation of the results the countries were categorized in three groups 1)The Legislation group, 2) the Investigation group, and 3) the Limit group. The categorization was based on the current management of sewage sludge in combination with ambitions and future perspectives.The legislation group includes Germany and Switzerland where the latter is the only country with a prohibition of spreading sewage sludge in agriculture, implemented 2006. Germany is a frontrunner with a newly implemented legislation. Spreading of sewage sludge is today rare in Germany since limits are getting more and more strict over time. Incineration is a common method in both Switzerland and Germany and both countries are in the frontline regarding the introduction of phosphorus extraction from the ashes.Six countries still use considerable amounts sewage sludge on agriculture, where four countries; Great Britain, Denmark, Norway and Canada has no plans in changing this (the Limit group). The Netherlands is also part of the Limit group but is different since they do not spread any sewage sludge on agriculture due to tough limits.The investigation group contain Finland and Sweden. They are spreading relatively large amounts of sewage sludge but has also an ambition to start extract and recycle phosphorus. This is done with support of a policy in Finland and in with a governmental investigation in Sweden with aim at formulating new regulations.A general observation is that the current handling of sewage sludge in each country is more dependent on local conditions than a more scientific evaluation of different opportunities. The explanations can rather be found in the structure of the agriculture (the access of manure or the access of agricultural land convenient for spreading sewage sludge), traditions and attitude to incineration, possibilities of alternative use of sludge (cover of mines and landfills), debate of sewage sludge or other reasons.

Nyckelord

phosphorus

nitrogen

nutrients

wastewater

sewage

recovery

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vet (ämneskategori)

rap (ämneskategori)