Phosphorus is one of the raw materials expected to be subject to severe shortages in the future. In 1979 the global stocks were estimated to be sufficient for 500 years at the forecast rate of consumption, in 2012 the amount of exploitable stocks was re-estimated to be sufficient for only around 100 years. The majority of extracted raw phosphate today is used for the production of fertilisers.

Waste water has the potential to be a significant source of secondary phosphate. Historically, phosphorus recovery from waste water was achieved by land application of sewage sludge. However, with the increasing use of thermal sludge disintegration processes where phosphorus is released, technical solutions for phosphorus recovery from the sludge liquid is of growing importance.

EloPhos is a proprietary technology of Eliquo Water Group (patent pending). It is a system for the recovery of phosphate from digested sewage sludge, emanating from waste water treatment plants, with biological phosphate (bio-P) removal in the form of magnesium-ammonium-phosphate (“map” or “struvite”) fertiliser.

The EloPhos process is based on the precipitation of dissolved phosphate from digested sewage sludge using magnesium salts, usually magnesium chloride (mgcl₂). Crystals which are grown in the EloPhos crystallisation reactor, up to approx. 1 - 2 mm diameter or above, can subsequently be separated.

The Eliquo Water Group have successfully installed the EloPhos® system in several European locations and now the system is available in the UK through ELIQUO HYDROK.

To discuss EloPhos® contact
Lewis O’Brien, Technical Director,
01726 861900,
send email