Phosphorus from point sources, such as wastewater treatment plants, and non-point sources, such as runoff from agricultural farms and urban areas, has caused a significant water quality problem in the United States. There is an urgent need to improve methods for reducing phosphorus pollution. Additionally, nutrient phosphate is a finite resource and current reserves could be depleted this century. Ideally, phosphorus could be recovered for reuse as a fertilizer, and other higher value uses. Research chemists at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, in this paper, describe an advanced phosphorus nutrient removal and recovery based on iron-oxide adsorption chemistry. The team found that the most superior test results were achieved using nano-based materials. The results, they write, warrant the next step of evaluation and comparison of the nanomaterials – microcolumn studies. They plan to use representative wastewater samples collected from sewage treatment plants, industrial wastewater facilities and dairy parlors for the initial rounds of microcolumn tests.
http://www.waterworld.com/index/display/article-display/1786347007/articles/industrial-waterworld/volume-11/issue-4/feature-editorial/examining-nanotechnology-for-recovery-of-phosphorus.html