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, says Sara Stiernström.
Link to the broadcast of the result presentation.
For further information, please contact:
Sara Stiernström, Product Manager at EasyMining, +46 (0)70-927 28 85, sara.stiernstrom@easymining.com
Emma Ranerfors, Press Officer, Ragn-Sells +46 (0)70-927 24 16, press@ragnsells.com
FACT BOX: Key findings
The incineration step and chemical exposure in the Ash2Phos process act as effective barriers against bacteria, viruses, parasites, and prions, ensuring their complete inactivation.
The negligible to very low risk of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (prions) in the European animal population further reduces the likelihood of prions in wastewater streams.
Identified gaps in knowledge regarding prions in wastewater streams, incineration temperatures, and the effects of pH and chemical treatments highlight the need for additional scientific research.
EasyMining is an innovation company dedicated to closing nutrient cycles. We are owned by the Swedish environmental company Ragn-Sells. Our objective is to create new circular material flows in an efficient commercial way. We do this by inventing and implementing new technology that uses chemical solutions to recycle important materials. www.easymining.com
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