Materials for Phosphorus Removal

Sustainable Materials for Phosphorus Removal

Pennotec has developed a wholly sustainable adsorbent material for the removal of phosphorus from water and wastewater streams. The phosphate adsorbent is prepared from crab shells – a by-product of shellfish processing, which itself would otherwise go to waste.

Phosphorus is an important fertilizer chemical in farming and is found in our food and used in our domestic lives. However, it can run off farmland and is present in our wastewater. It can be difficult to remove completely from wastewater particularly in small rural wastewater treatment plants. If phosphorus enters rivers, lakes and streams it can cause eutrophication, a biological process that can harm aquatic life and cause toxic algal and microbial blooms in our lakes and seas.

The research work is ongoing, and the business is interested to speak with water services companies in order to demonstrate this technology in real life settings. This is one example of the technology Pennotec is developing to turn waste into usable products, so helping to develop the Circular Economy.