Reclaiming phosphorus from secondary treated municipal wastewater with engineered biochar

Phosphorus (P), a vital growth-limiting nutrient, is often lost in wastewater discharge, which may not only deteriorate water quality but also accelerate P depletion. In this study, laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the reclamation and reuse of P from secondary treated wastewater (STWW) by engineered biochar loaded with aluminum oxyhydroxides (AlOOH). Biochar loaded with colloidal and nanosized AlOOH crystalline flakes was successfully produced through direct pyrolysis of hickory wood chips pretreated with aluminum salt. STWW samples were collected from a local wastewater treatment plant to evaluate the P sorption ability of the engineered biochar. The real wastewater was used in batch sorption experiments and the results showed that the engineered biochar effectively removed P from the STWW with relatively fast kinetics (