Removal of Phosphorus from Wastewater

Phosphorus removal: methods and processes

As in other cases, the choice of the most suitable method for phosphorus removal from wastewater depends on the characteristics of the water to be treated.

These are some of the most common processes for wastewater treatment.

• Biological treatment. It is an effective, economical, and sustainable process for removing phosphorus from civil and industrial wastewater.Some solutions proposed by technology providers are relatively simple to install and use.
• Chemical treatment. The use of products is one of the most popular practices for phosphorus removal from wastewater, especially when loads exceed treatment capacity by biological means. Reaction with specific reagents, such as ferric chloride, make phosphorus insoluble in water and thus separable by sedimentation.
• Sedimentation. When used as a stand-alone treatment, it is appropriate only when the concentration of the pollutant is low. In contrast, it is still an integral part of biological and chemical treatments.
• Filtration. This is generally a useful refinement process, to be applied downstream of the technologies already seen, when the required removal performance is particularly demanding. It can, under special circumstances, be combined with chemical treatment without including intermediate sedimentation.

MITA Water Technologies' solutions for phosphorus removal

MITA offers some water treatment solutions that, especially as a complement to further mechanical and chemical treatments, can support phosphorus removal.

• Lamella-pack decanters. They are a type of settler that uses a series of lamellae to significantly reduce the size of the tanks. They act on all settleable pollutants, thus including phosphorus after chemical treatment. Chemical preparation tanks and pre-decanter coagulation-flocculation tanks can be provided as needed.
• Drum filters and free-fiber cloth disc filters. As a consequence of the efficient removal of total suspended solids enabled by these solutions, phosphorus in water also decreases. Their use as stand-alone units is usually indicated for a finishing of other upstream treatments, when the discharge concentration of phosphorus is very stringent. But their direct, post-precipitation chemical use is also possible under particular conditions.