2016-11-01Naturvårdsverket | Swedish Environmental Protection Agency 1

PHOSPHORUS:

STRATEGIES AND

REUSE INITIATIVES

IN SWEDEN

Malmö

27 October 2016

Anna Maria Sundin

Swedish EPA

Disposition

• Phosphorus recovery

• Suggested ordinance on Phosphorus recovery

September 2013

– Environmental goals

– Short summary

– Sludge use in Sweden

– Consequences

– Status October 2016

• Other strategies and reuse initiatives in Sweden

• Final thoughts

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Phosphorus recovery

• Swedish EPA was commissioned by the

governement to look into sustainable recycling of

phosphorus in February 2012

• Purpose:

Promote reuse of phosphorus without causing

harm or inconvenience for human health or

the environment.

• Commissioned delivered in September 2013 as

Report No 6580 on sustainable phosphorus

recovery

The report aimed to serve as a basis for

governement decision making

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Starting points

Naturvårdsv

erketHavs- och vattenmyndigheten 4

• The generation goal’s subparagraph:

- Resource-efficient eco-cycles that are free from

undesirable materials to the extent possible

• Environmental quality objectives:

- A Non-Toxic Environment

- A Good Built Environment

- Zero Eutrophication

- Reduced Climate Impact

Proposal for regulation

• Includes the use of fractions of sewages, biowaste

and compost and where it can be used (farmland,

forest and other land where people normally dwell

like golf courses and parks)

• Stricter threshold values (TV) for heavy metals and

organic contaminats

• Demand for hygiene treatment for all fractions of

sewage regardless of usage

• Demand for Plan for prevention of unwanted

substances (”Upstream work”)

• Proposal for milestone targets

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Sewage sludge use in Sweden 2014

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Agriculture (25%)

Soil production (29%)

Final coverage landfill (24%)

Storage (7%)

Landfill (2%)

Combustion (1%)

Other use (10%)

Not declared (1%)

(SCB 2016)

Substance

in sewage

sludge

Current

TV

Europe

Current

TV

Sweden

Proposed

TV

2015

Proposed

TV

2023

Proposed

TV

2030

Sludge

used in

agri

2015*

mg/kg DM mg/kg DM mg/kg DM mg/kg DM mg/kg DMmg/kg

DM

Cadmium 20-40 2 1 0.9 0.8 0.75

Copper 1000-1750 600 600 550 475 341

Mercury 16-25 2,5 1 0,8 0,6 0.52

Chromium - 100 60 45 35 22

Nickel 300-400 50 40 35 30 16.1

Lead 750-1200 100 35 30 25 17,8

Zinc 2500-4000 800 800 750 700 544

Silver - - 5 4 3 -

Dioxin** - - 20 15 10 -

PFOS - - 0.07 0.05 0.02 -

Chloro-

paraffins- - 4 3 2 -

PCB7 - - 0.06 0.05 0.04 -

BDE-209 - - 0.7 0.5 0.5 -

* As reported in the Implementation Questionnaire 2014 on Soil and Sewage

Consequences of the proposal

• Reduced risk for acc of metals and organic contaminats in soil

• Reduced risk of spreading of infectious agents

• Reduced leaching of nutrient materials/eutrophication

• Reduced need to import mineral fertiliser – a source that

eventually can become more expensive and more polluted

• Preventive work will improve sludge quality as well as the effluent

water quality at WWTP

• Increased resource efficiency – higher accepance of sewage- and

waste components

• Risk: profitability of biogas production facilities affected if the

biowaste doesn’t hold the TV

• Risk: less P and other nutrients in sludge recovered – technology

development needed

• The regulation is in progress at the ministry

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The wastewater system is not made for chemicals – nor the nature

Upstream work among waste water

treatment companies

Improve the quality of the sludge

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The Revaq certification system

• Ensures safe recycling of sewage sludge

• Established in 2008

• Operated by:– The Swedish Water and Wastewater Association

– the Federation of Swedish Farmers

– The Swedish Food Federation

– The Swedish Food Retailer´s Federation

• In 2015 approx 40% of the sewage sludge in Sweden was produced at WWTP certified by the Revaq system

• Upstream work, full traceability, stricter metal limits than current Swedish legislation, pathogen control

Alternatives to recover nutrients

12

Recovery of

nutrients from

sewage

Sludge

application

Techniques for

resource

recovery

Source

sorting toilet

systems

Naturvårdsverket | Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

Strategies for P recovery at some

Swedish WWTP september 2016

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Final thoughts

• Important to reduce the content of unwanted substances in

the society and limit the use of materials that threaten to

cause negative environmental and health effects

• Potential conflict of environmental goals: Non-toxic

environment and Recycling of nutrients

• Phosphorus in sewage fractions and biowaste is part of a

circular economy and should be recovered

• Different pathways to achive this depending on the sludge

quality and technology development

• The regulation is in progress at the ministry

• Guidance on how to closing the loop

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Thank you!

Anna Maria SundinSwedish EPA

annamaria.sundin@naturvardsverket.se

010-698 11 79