EasyMining, an innovation company within the Ragn-Sells Group, and Lantmännen announce the successful completion of their project „Assessing Pathogen Risks in Phosphorus Recovery“.
The project centred around EasyMining’s patented Ash2Phos process, a revolutionary method for recovering phosphorus from incinerated sewage sludge, offering a potential solution to address the global phosphorus shortage.
„The successful completion of this project marks a significant milestone in our commitment to sustainable phosphorus recovery. Our risk assessment underscores the safety and viability of the Ash2Phos process and recycled phosphorus, laying the groundwork for potential regulatory advancements,“ says Sara Stiernström, product manager at EasyMining.
The risk assessment, made by the Swedish National Veterinary Institute (SVA), focused on the probability of infectious animal pathogens in phosphorus recovered from sewage sludge through incineration and the Ash2Phos process. The study concluded that, under current assumptions and information, the risk of infectious animal pathogens in the recovered phosphorus is assessed to be negligible.
Phosphorus is a critical nutrient essential for agricultural productivity and the global food supply. EasyMining’s Ash2Phos process extracts phosphorus from the ashes of incinerated sewage sludge, creating a high-quality phosphorus product suitable for use as a phosphate supplement in animal feeds.
Despite the promising qualities of the recovered phosphorus, existing European Union legislation prohibits the use of nutrients recycled from wastewater in animal feeds. This regulatory challenge prompted EasyMining to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment to address concerns about the presence of pathogens in the recovered phosphorus.
„We hope that the results of this project can be an important part of the work to open up legislation for feed originating from sewage. With this project, we aimed to demonstrate that ash from incinerated sewage sludge ash could be a safe raw material for phosphorus recovery by setting high demands on incineration,“ concludes Sara Stiernström.
Source: EasyMining
