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The relationship between operational and bioavailable phosphorus fractions in effluents from advanced nutrient removal systems

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Abstract

Because different phosphorus (P) forms vary greatly in their bioavailability, total phosphorus concentrations are a problematic predictor of the eutrophication potential of natural surface waters and wastewater treatment facility effluents. It is currently not known which operational P characterizations (i.e., dissolved/particulate and reactive/non-reactive) best predict effluent P bioavailability. We characterized the P speciation and directly measured the bioavailability of P (BAP) using algal bioassays for 14 full-scale advanced nutrient removal wastewater treatment plants representing a wide range of P removal technologies. A strong statistical relationship was observed between the effluent total BAP (tBAP) and total reactive P (TRP) (r 2 ≈ 0.81), with a tBAP/TRP ratio of 0.61 ± 0.24, indicating that TRP can be used as a conservative surrogate predictor of tBAP. A comparison of different operational categories for phosphorus indicated that sBAP is consistently lower than both soluble P (SP) and soluble reactive P (SRP) with average ratios of 0.34 ± 0.19 and 0.62 ± 0.27, respectively. This shows a large fraction of the dissolved non-reactive P (i.e., SP−SRP), and ≥40 % of the P classified as SRP was not bioavailable. Total BAP concentrations were on average 30 % higher than soluble BAP (sBAP) concentrations, indicating that the particulate P fraction was an important component of the BAP for the tested effluents. Comparisons between different P removal technologies suggest the bioavailability, and P species composition varies with the nutrient removal process, and that in many cases, a large portion (>60 %) of the effluent P is recalcitrant to algal growth.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Water Environment Research Foundation for funding this study (Grant Number NUTR1R06p) and the WWTP staff at North Durham Water Reclamation Facility, South Durham Water Reclamation Facility, Hayden Wastewater Research Facility, Coeur d’Alene Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant, Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment Plant, Ruidoso Village Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, Broad Run Water Reclamation Facility, Rock Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, Durham Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility, Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant, City of Las Vegas Water Pollution Control Facility, Iowa Hill Wastewater Treatment Plant, Farmers Korner WWTP and Snoqualmie Wastewater Reclamation Facility for their kind support with sampling and sample transport. We also wish to thank Dr. Matula in Center for Industrial & Medical Ultrasound, University of Washington, for analytical support.

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  1. Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, More Hall 201, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA

    B. Li & M. T. Brett

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  1. B. Li
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  2. M. T. Brett
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Correspondence to B. Li.

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Li, B., Brett, M.T. The relationship between operational and bioavailable phosphorus fractions in effluents from advanced nutrient removal systems. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 12, 3317–3328 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-015-0760-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-015-0760-y

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