SCIENTISTS are trying to recycle from waste water a chemical element widely used in farming, supplies of which could run out in the next century.
Professor Ole Pahl of Glasgow Caledonian University is working on a project to recycle the essential nutrient phosphorus.
All the phosphorus used by Scotland’s farmers is imported, but Pahl and his team – and European partner groups – have been awarded £500,000 from the European Commission body INTERREG NWE for work to reclaim and recycle it.
“We see phosphorus as a wasted resource, because so much of the material ends up in sewage with no easy way of recovering it,” said Pahl, who is associate dean of research in the university’s School of Engineering and Built Environment. “It is the second most important fertiliser for food production, so finding a way to recycle it and recover this secondary phosphorus is vital.”
The Glasgow team will work with University of Highlands and Islands and Scottish Water exploring techniques to extract phosphorus from waste water.
Pahl added: “We are hoping the project, Phos4You, can demonstrate that phosphorus can be recycled from waste water on a large scale with our technique, which uses microscopic plants and wool.”
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