Phosphorus (P) abundantly presents in various biowastes (such as biosolids, animal manures, and plant biomass), and plays a critical role in the Food-Energy-Water nexus. Its content and speciation largely determines the functionality and applications of the biowastes and their treatment products. We comparatively characterized P speciation in biochar/hydrochar derived from pyrolysis and hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) under a broad range of treatment conditions, using a combination of analytical and spectroscopic techniques. Results showed that the transformation of P molecular moiety, complexation state and mineralogy was highly dependent treatment temperature and feedstock properties (particularly elemental stoichiometry). Possible reactions involved in the speciation transformation were explored, which can contribute to a systematic understanding of the thermochemical mechanisms behind biowastes treatment. The speciation transformation was also found to alter P mobility and availability in the treatment products, which is of close relevance to P reclamation and recycling from the biowastes. This line of endeavors can help optimize the application of thermochemical treatments to facilitate effective and efficient resource recovery from solid biowastes.<br/>

Transformation of phosphorus during (hydro)thermal treatments of solid biowastes: Reaction mechanisms and implications for phosphorus reclamation and recycling

255th National Meeting (2018)

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