New waste-free process produces fertilizer from phosphorus-containing ashes

With “PHOS4green“, Germany based fluid bed pioneer, Glatt, presents a new two-stage method that extracts phosphorus from sewage sludge ashes and converts it into ready-to-use fertilizer granulates.

In cooperation with an industrial partner and the Material Research and Testing Institute of the Bauhaus University Weimar (MPFA), the market leader for fluidized bed technology, Glatt Ingenieurtechnik, has developed a highly efficient process: PHOS4green extracts phosphate from sewage sludge ashes, which is then converted into residue-free, ready-to-use standard fertilizers using fluidized bed spray granulation. The project was funded by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU). The process is an ideal way to close the gap in the phosphorus cycle by combining recycling with manufacturing and producing an end product that can be sold directly.