Edmonton, Alberta-Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc. reported achieving, for the first time on an industrial scale, removal of 80 percent on average of the phosphorus and 10-15 percent of the ammonia with its reactor installed at Edmonton’s wastewater treatment plant. Ostara President and CEO Phillip Abrary reported, “The Edmonton plant is Ostara’s first commercial-size reactor. However, several other commercial facilities are already in planning and design stages after successful field trials in 2007 by municipalities, ethanol biofuel plants and food processing plants in the United States and Canada. As many as 400 municipalities and industrial plants in North America and 500 in Europe are potential customers for the Ostara process.” The capital cost of an Ostara reactor is estimated between $2 million and $4 million, which is said to be recovered with maintenance and capacity savings and fertilizer revenue within three to five years. The fertilizer by-product called Crystal Green is described as a slow-release formulation of nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium suitable for golf courses, container nurseries, and specialty agriculture. Vince Corkery, director of wastewater treatment at Edmonton’s Gold Bar facility, remarked, “We have supported this technology because it creates a valuable product from phosphorus and other polluting nutrients which would otherwise clog our pipes and reduce our plant’s treatment capacity. We look forward to continued cooperation with Ostara to add reactors capable of treating 100 per cent of our biosolids stream in the future.”
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain