Market and product

Ostara Nutrient Technologies is introducing a breakthrough that turns wastewater from sewage-treatment plants into fertilizer, cites Cnet.

The Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HSRSD) facility put up three vessels that collect wastewater and mix it with magnesium chloride. A cone-shaped "fluid bed reactor" prevents solid particles from settling. Crystals are slowly formed into ammonium magnesium phosphate, or fertilizer pellets. These are then sold to nurseries and agricultural companies.

The new technology "isolates" 85% of the nutrients phosphorus and nitrogen and recycles them in the process. Nutrients are recycled and the solid materials crystallized through chemical reaction. The key to the process is the shape of the reactor which makes crystallization possible.
"Phosphorus is a nonrenewable resource that’s absolutely necessary. If you don’t have phosphorus, you can’t grow things," said Ostara CEO Phillip Abrary.

It was originally started at the University of British, Columbia. It offers an efficient way to make wastewater reusable although municipal organizations are not as responsive to a new innovation as private sectors, quips Abrary.

(Source: www.sevensidedcube.net)