Recovering raw materials from wastewater and driving climate protection: This is the goal of our new research project RoKKa (raw material source sewage sludge and climate protection at wastewater treatment plants).

For this purpose, we are investigating the different processes of targeted phosphorus elimination from wastewater at the FG Urban Water Management under the new objective of developing a local phosphorus source for microalgae for the production of beta-glucans as plant biostimulant and for fertilizer production. In addition, we are concerned with the climate compatibility of the bioeconomic production processes from wastewater investigated in RoKKa. A key role is played by nitrous oxide (_N2O), since one gram of _N2Ocontributes 265 times as much to the greenhouse effect in 100 years as one gram of_CO2. Direct nitrous oxide emissions occur during wastewater treatment as intermediate and by-products of biological nitrogen elimination. Accordingly, innovative separation and utilization of nitrogen from wastewater also holds great climate protection potential.

Scientists from the research institutes of the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (IGB), the University of Stuttgart, the University of Kassel and the Technical University of Kaiserslautern are working on the sustainable biorefinery from wastewater at the two project sites in Erbach and Neu-Ulm together with the companies SolarSpring GmbH, Deukum GmbH, Nanoscience for life GmbH, Umwelttechnik-BW GmbH, the city of Erbach and the Zweckverband Klärwerk Steinhäule.

The project is funded by the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy Baden-Württemberg and co-financed by the European Union.

More information at:

https://www.pure-bw.de/de/rokka-rohstoffquelle-klaeranlage

Campus message of the University of Kassel