Migration pathway of nitrogen and phosphorus in municipal sludge during three thermochemical transformation ways

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2025.09.003

中国化学工程学报 ›› 2025, Vol. 88 ›› Issue (12): 34-41.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2025.09.003

Migration pathway of nitrogen and phosphorus in municipal sludge during three thermochemical transformation ways

Kun Wang¹, Wenzheng Liang¹, Sheng Yao¹, Haifeng Lv², Cuiping Wang¹

1. Clean Energy Laboratory, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China;
2. College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China

收稿日期:2025-06-14 修回日期:2025-08-27 接受日期:2025-09-01 出版日期:2026-02-09 发布日期:2025-09-23
通讯作者: Haifeng Lv,E-mail:lvhaifeng_2013@126.com;Cuiping Wang,E-mail:wangcuiping21@sdust.edu.cn
基金资助:
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52476120), the Qingdao City International Cooperation Project (24-1-6-ghgg-9-hz) and Qingdao West Coast New Area Project (2021-53).

Migration pathway of nitrogen and phosphorus in municipal sludge during three thermochemical transformation ways

Kun Wang¹, Wenzheng Liang¹, Sheng Yao¹, Haifeng Lv², Cuiping Wang¹

1. Clean Energy Laboratory, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China;
2. College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China

Received:2025-06-14 Revised:2025-08-27 Accepted:2025-09-01 Online:2026-02-09 Published:2025-09-23
Contact: Haifeng Lv,E-mail:lvhaifeng_2013@126.com;Cuiping Wang,E-mail:wangcuiping21@sdust.edu.cn
Supported by:
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52476120), the Qingdao City International Cooperation Project (24-1-6-ghgg-9-hz) and Qingdao West Coast New Area Project (2021-53).

摘要/Abstract

摘要： Municipal sludge, a sewage treatment by-product rich in nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) — essential soil nutrients — is limited in traditional composting due to heavy metal contamination. Thermochemical treatments offer a promising alternative, but the migration pathways of N and P during these processes, and how to enhance nutrient recovery while mitigating heavy metals, remain unclear. This study investigates N and P migration in sludge via incineration, hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), and pyrolytic gasification, focusing on key mechanisms and optimization. Results show incineration and pyrolytic gasification suffer from significant N loss (as NO_x or low-concentration ammonia) and limited P availability, while HTC uniquely retains N and P in both solid (up to 14.03% N, 11.53% P) and liquid (26.74 g·kg^-1 N, 64.69 g·kg^-1 P) products under mild conditions, with heavy metals stabilized in its weak oxidizing atmosphere. A critical innovation is that adding calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) in HTC promotes plant-available N/P compounds (e.g., Ca₅(PO₄)₃Cl, NH₄MgCl₃·6H₂O) and reduces toxic heavy metals to 0.229%. Temperature-dependent selectivity is observed: 210 ℃ with MgCl₂ enhances N/P conversion (up to 71.72% N, 61.3% P), while 270 ℃ with CaCl₂ prioritizes heavy metal stabilization. This work clarifies N/P migration mechanisms, establishes an additive-temperature regulation strategy for simultaneous nutrient recovery and detoxification, and provides a theoretical basis for sludge utilization as high-value fertilizer precursors.

关键词: Biomass, Waste treatment, Hydrothermal, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Migration pathway

Abstract: Municipal sludge, a sewage treatment by-product rich in nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) — essential soil nutrients — is limited in traditional composting due to heavy metal contamination. Thermochemical treatments offer a promising alternative, but the migration pathways of N and P during these processes, and how to enhance nutrient recovery while mitigating heavy metals, remain unclear. This study investigates N and P migration in sludge via incineration, hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), and pyrolytic gasification, focusing on key mechanisms and optimization. Results show incineration and pyrolytic gasification suffer from significant N loss (as NO_x or low-concentration ammonia) and limited P availability, while HTC uniquely retains N and P in both solid (up to 14.03% N, 11.53% P) and liquid (26.74 g·kg^-1 N, 64.69 g·kg^-1 P) products under mild conditions, with heavy metals stabilized in its weak oxidizing atmosphere. A critical innovation is that adding calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) in HTC promotes plant-available N/P compounds (e.g., Ca₅(PO₄)₃Cl, NH₄MgCl₃·6H₂O) and reduces toxic heavy metals to 0.229%. Temperature-dependent selectivity is observed: 210 ℃ with MgCl₂ enhances N/P conversion (up to 71.72% N, 61.3% P), while 270 ℃ with CaCl₂ prioritizes heavy metal stabilization. This work clarifies N/P migration mechanisms, establishes an additive-temperature regulation strategy for simultaneous nutrient recovery and detoxification, and provides a theoretical basis for sludge utilization as high-value fertilizer precursors.

Key words: Biomass, Waste treatment, Hydrothermal, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Migration pathway

Kun Wang, Wenzheng Liang, Sheng Yao, Haifeng Lv, Cuiping Wang. Migration pathway of nitrogen and phosphorus in municipal sludge during three thermochemical transformation ways[J]. 中国化学工程学报, 2025, 88(12): 34-41.

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Migration pathway of nitrogen and phosphorus in municipal sludge during three thermochemical transformation ways

Migration pathway of nitrogen and phosphorus in municipal sludge during three thermochemical transformation ways

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