Biological removal of phosphorus from wastewater

PHOSPAQ is the most cost-effective way to meet discharge requirements ánd produce valuable, EU-approved fertilizer.

Phosphorus removal is needed before industrial facilities can discharge wastewater or recycle it. Public water facilities also need a phosphate filter to transform sewage into drinking water. That’s because effluent from anaerobic reactors can still contain low levels of phosphate, BOD and ammonia. The PHOSPAQ^™ post-treatment process removes biologically degradable COD, phosphate (PO43-) and ammonium (NH₄+) from wastewater. It takes place in an aerated reactor, which provides optimal conditions for biological conversion of COD and quality struvite formation.

PHOSPAQ^™ combines COD removal, ammonia removal, phosphate removal and phosphorus recovery in one reactor. This biological removal of phosphorus from wastewater deletes up to 95% of the phosphate in wastewater.

Discover if PHOSPAQ is feasible for your facility or

As phosphate becomes scarce, phosphorus recovery becomes more commercially interesting. PHOSPAQ^™ allows facilities to harvest commercial phosphate from wastewater. By adding magnesium oxide, the system filters phosphate in wastewater. It is then transformed into struvite, harvested from the bottom of the reactor and separately contained. Struvite is an excellent slow-release, EU-approved fertilizer. Compared to e.g. dosing of iron salts, PHOSPAQ^™ is a more cost-effective technology for phosphorus recovery.

To raise the effluent quality of (municipal) wastewater treatment plants, a treatment stage can be added to reduce concentrations of nitrogen, BOD, phosphate and TSS. ASTRASAND® is not only effective in biological removal of phosphorus from wastewater, but also for the final removal of ammonia, nitrate, TSS and BOD. The ASTRASAND® filtration process removes phosphate to levels below 0.15 mg/l respectively. With more than 40 years of experience and 3,500 installations worldwide in sand filtration, Pacques can provide every industrial or public facility with a tailor-made sand filter system that meets all requirements.