Nutrient recovery from wastewater: From technology to economy

Abstract The recovery of fertilizer-used nutrients from wastewater is a sustainable approach for wastewater management and helping social sustainability. This is especially the case given the strict discharge requirements and shortages existing in nutrients supply. Recognizing that wastewater is a very useful resource and the value of recycled nutrients has made researchers consider the recovery of nutrients from wastewater. This review described the current technologies used to recover nutrients in wastewater treatment and their mechanisms, including chemical methods, biological technologies, membrane systems and advanced membrane systems. Also, an economic analysis of these nutrient recovery systems was discussed and compared them in terms of positive and negative aspects. The economic feasibility of recovered nutrients was investigated. Finally, future perspectives expects some possible research directions regarding recovery system which can be more economically accessible for wastewater treatment, in which the osmotic membrane bioreactors (OMBR) and bioelectrochemical systems (BES)-based hybrid systems are highly recommended.