The European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform · •2016 Decree makes phosphorus recovery obligatory by 2026 • from sewage sludge incineration ash* and meat and bone meal ash, >45%

The European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform

Challenges – Framework – Circular Solutions Ludwig Hermann

President

25.06.2019

Federchimica, Milano, Italy

Project Final Conference

Agenda • ESPP in a nutshell

• Global challenges

• Framework: UN-Agreements, policies and regulations

• P & N-recycling

• Conclusions

ESPP facts and figures

• Legally established, not-for-profit association

important for transparency, clarity of decision making, representation - statutes are public https://www.phosphorusplatform.eu/platform/about-espp

- EU Transparency Register no. 260483415852-40 http://ec.europa.eu/transparencyregister/

• 100% membership funded

key to credibility, independence

• >40 paying members to date: industries, SMEs, R&D institutes or projects,

city- / regional- / national governments

• balance between different interests and industries

in touch with reality (payment = commitment)

June 2019 3 Italmatch Chemicals - LIFE TRIALKYL Final Conferenc

https://www.phosphorusplatform.eu/platform/about-espp



http://ec.europa.eu/transparencyregister/

How ESPP operates

• Decision by consensus

• Mediation rather than advocacy

- enable dialogue between stakeholders

- develop shared proposals for policy

- communicate with regulators

June 2019 4

Example: Joint Statement on the EU Fertilisers Regulation

proposal, between EU federations in the mineral fertilisers,

organic fertilisers, soil improvers, digestate, animal by-

products, limiting materials and wastewater industries, 20th

November 2017 www.phosphorusplatform.eu/regulatory

Italmatch Chemicals - LIFE TRIALKYL Final Conferenc

http://www.phosphorusplatform.eu/regulatory





ESPP communications tools

Available for other networks and R&I projects

• Twitter @phosphorusfacts

• ESPP website www.phosphorusplatform.eu

- events

- Members Pages,

- news

- R&D projects

- success stories

- regulatory

• SCOPE Newsletter - science and innovation

• eNews - monthly

- policy, practice

45 000 email listing worldwide


https://twitter.com/phosphorusfacts

http://www.phosphorusplatform.eu/



• Framework: UN-Agreements, policies and regulations

• P & N-recycling

• Conclusions

Great acceleration from 1900, particularly from 1960

June 2019 7 Source: UNEP, Fischer-Kowalski, M., 2011) Italmatch Chemicals - LIFE TRIALKYL Final Conferenc

Decoupling achieved

Planetary Boundaries (Steffen et al., 2015)

• Abrupt global environmental change can no longer be excluded.

• Safe operation within planetary boundaries needed

• Transgressing one or more planetary boundaries may be catastrophic


Priority challenge: nutrient losses and eutrophication

June 2019 9

Source: EEA, 2017

https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps







And still…

• Without mineral phosphate fertilisers we could feed maybe 1/5th of the current world population

Adapted from Dawson et al., Food Policy 2011: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03069192

• Without Haber-Bosch (mineral nitrogen fertilisers) we could feed only half of the current world population

Fertilizers Europe / Wageningen University

Italmatch Chemicals - LIFE TRIALKYL Final Conferenc June 2019 10



• Framework: UN Agreements, policies and regulations

• P & N-recycling

• Conclusions

United Nations: Sustainable Development Goals Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the UN General Assembly (193 nations) on September 25, 2015


UN Environment, UNEA.4/L.16 Resolution (11-15 March 2019):

Sustainable Nitrogen Management

Followed by The Paris Agreement (COP21) 195 governments agreed at the 21st Conference of the Parties

of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC) on December 12, 2015

• Goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature

to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels;

• To aim to limit the increase to 1.5°C, since this would

significantly reduce risks and the impacts of climate change;

• On the need for global emissions to peak as soon as

possible, recognizing that this will take longer for developing

countries;

• To undertake rapid reductions thereafter in accordance

with the best available science.


European policies driving nutrient recycling

June 2019 14

• 2014 EU Consultative Communication

on Sustainable Use of Phosphorus • Proposals include:

increasing knowledge and research, P-recycling,

risk of soil contamination by mineral or recycled fertilisers • see www.phosphorusplatform.eu/scope107

• 2015: EU Circular Economy Package • Flagship initiative = new EU Fertilisers Regulation

ESPP in action:

In responses to EU public

consultation:

54% of respondents cited bio-

nutrients or phosphorus


http://www.phosphorusplatform.eu/scope107

A CE-marked product must respect all of:

- Annex I PFCs = Product Function Categories

- Annex II CMCs = Component Material Categories

- Annex III = Labelling Requirements

- Annex IV = Conformity Assessment Procedure

If it does, End-of-Waste is achieved Europe-wide


Fertilisers Regulation, adopted 5 June 2019

“STRUBIAS” (Struvite, Biochar and Ash*) * Now “precipitated phosphate salts & derivates, thermal oxidation materials & derivates and pyrolysis & gasification materials”)

June 2019 16

To define Fertilisers Regulation criteria for these materials (as CMCs)

- Commission agreed to start definition of criteria for materials in 2016

- DG GROW mandate to JRC: February 2016

- JRC draft report May 2017 and draft market report December 2017

- Pre-Final Report 13th August 2018 – online at www.phosphorusplatform.eu/regulatory

- Final STRUBIAS meeting 25-27 Sept. 2018 – report online at

www.phosphorusplatform.eu/regulatory

- Pre-Final Report 13th August 2018 – online at www.phosphorusplatform.eu/regulatory

DG GROW will translate into CMC legal text to add to Annex II, Qu3/2019 (?)





European policies driving nutrient recycling • Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive 1991/271

• Nitrates Directive 1991/676 – SAFEMANURE study underway

• Water Framework Directive 2000/2000 - quality objectives 2015 / 2021 / 2027

• Groundwater Directive 2006/118 - phosphorus on monitoring list (2014)

• National Emission Ceilings Directive revision: reduce ammonia emissions by 19% until 2030

June 2019 17

Phosphorus is first cause of (non-morphological) quality status failure under the

EU Water Framework Directive

55% of UK rivers and 74% of lakes exceed P level for good ecological status

3 July 2018



Proposed new CAP (Common Agricultural Policy)

• EU Commission proposal 1 June 2018

• “Farm Sustainability Tool for Nutrients” - information on farm, crops, management - complete nutrient budget

• Conditionality requirements: - control of diffuse pollution by phosphates - nitrate leakages … buffer strips, soil management …

• https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/future-cap_en


https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/future-cap_en














National Emissions Ceilings Directive (NECD) revision

• Ammonia emissions - Ammonia particulates health impacts

• - 98% of ammonia emissions from agriculture

• - 2016 NECD revision: - 19% reduction target for ammonia by 2030


Regional policies

Baltic Sea Region • HELCOM:

8 EU Member States, plus Russia and the EU

• “Recommendation” March 2017 = obligation

- maximise phosphorus and other useful substance

recycling

- regular State reporting on measures taken to

implement this

• Ministerial Declaration March 2018:

- define Nutrient Recycling Strategy by 2020


National policies Finland • Action program: Finland among world leaders in Circular

Economy by 2025.

The Netherlands • Agreements (mostly voluntary) between government and

stakeholders aiming at P-recycling.

Sweden • Aiming at toxin-free and resource-efficient eco-cycles, the

Government has appointed an inquiry to propose a ban on spreading sewage sludge and introduce a requirement for phosphorus recycling from sewage sludge.


National policies

Germany • Legislation May 2017: phosphorus recycling becomes obligatory

- within 12/15 years

- for all WWTPs > 50 000 PE

- if sewage sludge P > 2% of dry matter

Switzerland

• 2016 Decree makes phosphorus recovery obligatory by 2026

• from sewage sludge incineration ash* and meat and bone meal ash, >45% from sludge, >80% from ash

• 2018 “MinRec” requirements to inorganic recycled fertilisers enforced by Swiss Bundesrat * Switzerland banned land use of sewage biosolids in 2006


https://www.news.admin.ch/index.html?lang=fr

Agenda • Global challenges

• ESPP in a nutshell


• P & N-recycling

• Conclusions

P-Recovery potential in EU27 (Source: Van Dijk et al., 2016)

June 2019 24

Mi n e

r a l

f e r t

i l i z

e r s :

1, 39

7 k t

P

( 200

5)

1, 13

3 k t

P

( 201

5)

Wa s

t e :

1, 20

7

k t Italmatch Chemicals - LIFE TRIALKYL Final Conferenc

Global implementation (Source: Kabbe, 2018)

June 2019 25

More than 100 full-scale plants operational in Europe, USA/Canada and Japan.

80 struvite plants of which 60 are municipal; some 20,000 t struvite produced.

Pilot production of high grade P-products from ash in Varna, Hamburg, Madrid and

Helsingborg. Full scale production of ammonium nitrate in Oslo.


Struvite – essentially a by-product • Driven and paid-back by maintenance improvements/savings

• Average P recovery rate from the aqueous phase 8-15% of the potential, up to 40%

recovery with sludge pre-treatment – albeit design capacity typically not achieved

• ˂10% of European wastewater treatment plants qualify for the current „struvite“ process

• Plants produce a few hundred to few thousands tons of P-fertilizer. Different shapes,

impurities, pollutants and fertilizing efficiency. Constant high quality products from Ostara.


P-recycling from ash (EasyMining, TetraPhos, Phos4Life, EcoPhos)

> 85% P-recovery rate

• Several financially sound, industry owned technology

suppliers

• Independent of P-removal process in sewage plant

• High value “commodity” products =

• technical grade acid, DCP and / or

• 100% water soluble CleanMAP

• 3 processes recover iron/aluminium salts for P-removal

in wastewater treatment plants

• 2 processes recover silicates for cement production

Source: EasyMining Source: Phos4Life June 2019 27 Italmatch Chemicals - LIFE TRIALKYL Final Conferenc

P-recycling from tailings (EasyMining / Yara)

June 2019 28

• EasyMining and LKAB develop the

production of technical, 100% water

soluble MAP (CleanMAP) and Rare

Earth Elements (REE) from LKAB’s

iron ore tailings

• Yara recovers P from a tailing pond

at the Lagamar Mine (JV Galvani,

Brazil) and uses recycled pyrit from a

partner’s mine in for phosphate

extraction in Siilinjärvi (Finland).


N-recycling from sewer plants (Yara)

N-stripping + production of ammonium nitrate in Oslo

• A substantial fraction (12-15%) of the total N load entering the VEAS

plant is recovered – after anaerobic digestion (AD) of sludge, lime

conditioning and filter pressing stages – via ammonia stripping and

subsequent capturing (scrubbing) of the ammonia gas (NH3) with a

concentrated nitric acid solution (HNO3 – 62% w/w).

• This stripping and scrubbing treatment yields an industrially reusable

ammonium nitrate (AN – NH4NO3) side stream.

• Yara acts as a key-enabler in this circular business model through

supplying the nitric acid and off-taking the AN side-stream.


P-recycling to organic fertilisers (some examples)


Italpollina (IT)

• 200.000 t/y organic and organo-mineral plant nutrition from

organic waste and residues, sales in 80 countries

Biomasa Peninsular (ES)

• Water- and nutrient recycling by cultivating micro-algae,

production of granular and liquid fertilisers

Fertikal (BE)

• 370.000 t/y organic fertilising products, 99% exported

4R Group (UK)

• 750.000 t/y secondary organic soil amendments from 150

contractors

Biolan (FI)

• 100.000 t/y secondary organic fertilising products

http://www.life-tlbiofer.eu/

Agenda • Global challenges

• ESPP in a nutshell


• P & N-recycling

• Conclusions

Conclusions

• Global, albeit not legally binding normative framework since 2015:

• 17 Sustainable Development Goals

• Paris Agreement COP21

• European policies, regulations and directives

• Circular Economy Package

• Proposed new Common Agricultural Policies (CAP)

• New Fertiliser Regulation

• Remaining barriers

• No market (demand) for more sustainable, circular processes

• No (apparent) willingness to accept a premium for sustainability


Conclusions (2) – regarding national initiatives

• Incentive / penalty options • Taxes on landfill (DK, NL), on nutrient effluents (DK)

• P-recycling mandatory (CH, DE)

• Binding agreements with industry, municipalities (NL, BSAG)

• Tax externalities, e.g. CO2 – saving GHG emissions must pay back!

• Regulations should consider • N2O emissions

• Future N-recovery integration

• Energy balance of WWTP

• LCA of circular solutions


Email: Chris Thornton [email protected] Ludwig Hermann [email protected]

Website: www.phosphorusplatform.eu

News: @phosphorusfacts http://www.phosphorusplatform.eu/members

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.phosphorusplatform.eu/

https://twitter.com/phosphorusfacts

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Documents

The European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform · •2016 Decree makes phosphorus recovery obligatory by 2026 • from sewage sludge incineration ash* and meat and bone meal ash, >45%