Sustainable Phosphorus use in Italy · Phosphorus China (58%) Vietnam (19%) Kazakhstan (13%) United States (11%) Kazakhstan (77%) China (14%) Vietnam (8%) Kazakhstan (77%) China (14%)

Alessandro Spagni

ENEA – Laboratory of Technologies for Water Management, Bologna

Italian Sustainable phosphorus platform

Sustainable Phosphorus use in Italy

Life-Trialkyl Project Final Conference

Auditorium Federchimica - Milano 25th June 2019

Italian Phosphorus Platform– web page

http://www.piattaformaitalianafosforo.it/

info@piattaformaitalianafosforo.it

Italian Phosphorus Platform

3

• Born according to a National Law (LEGGE 27 dicembre 2017 , n.

205 . Bilancio di previsione dello Stato per l’anno finanziario 2018 e

bilancio pluriennale per il triennio 2018-2020)

• Ministero dell’ambiente e della tutela del territorio e del mare

• End of 2018 The Italian Ministry asks ENEA to coordinate the

«Technical Board»

•

• Main Objectives (summary, details can directly be found in the Law):

• National P uses

• Best practices for P recovery from waste

• Support in legislation to improve P recovery and uses;

• Diffusion of information.

European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform (ESPP)

https://phosphorusplatform.eu/

Italian Phosphorus Platform

Several pages in the document

P recovery from waste according to the P-Rex Project

Country Quantity

Germany 13

Denmark 4

Spain 2

The Nederland 10

Japan 10

China 2

… …

Italia 0

Example of cases of P recovery plants according to the P-REX

Project(Sustainable sewage sludge management fostering phosphorus

recovery and energy efficiency, 7PQ).

Data since 2017

7

Italian Survey for Technologies and Best

practices for P recovery and P uses

Survey sent to Municipality, University, Research Centre,

Pubblic amministrations, Associations, Private company, etc.

• 17 forms were received back

• 7 forms classified as Best practices

• 8 forms classified as Technologies

• 2 No information for Best pratice or technology

• 16 forms refer to sludge, wastewater and digestate

TRL Quantity

9 8

8 1

7 1

4 2

N.A. 5

EU nutrient research & development projects

9

Document of 237 pages

132 Projects

Global P flow, 2000

10

Approx. 23%

Studies on EU P cycle

11

Study on EU-15 P cycle

(Ott and Rechberger, 2012)

12

• The annual net per capita P use in the EU-15 was 4.7 kg/ca/y, of

which only 1.2 kg/ca/y (i.e. 25%) reached the consumer

• After use there was little recycling (0.77 kg P/ca/year, i.e. 16% )

• Large fractions of the surplus P accumulated in agricultural soils (2.9

kg P/ca/year, 62%)

• Accumulated in landfills (1.4 kg P/ca/year, 30%)

• Enter to the hydrosphere (0.55 kg P/ca/year, 12%).

The authors propose that Europe's P import can significantly be reduced

by optimising

• P fertilization,

• Collecting and recycling of P-rich wastes,

• Improve connection of households to sewer systems,

• Implementing tertiary wastewater treatment as a P-removing step in

wastewater treatment plants.

Phosphorus use in the EU-27 in 2005

Van Dijk et al., 2016

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Study on EU-27 P Fluxes

Van Dijk et al., 2016

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• Total P import in EU-27 in 2005 amounted to 2392 kton P/year.

• Most of the import was used for mineral fertiliser (1399 kton/y, 58%)

• Total export was 251 kton P/year (10%; mainly crop and food

products, 216 kton P/year)

• 924 kton P/y (39%) accumulated in agricultural soils

• 1217 kton P/y (51%) lost from the system

• Most of the lost was from solid and liquid waste (655 kton P/y, 27%)

• “There are relatively large opportunities to use P more efficiently and

effectively, including decreasing P losses from the system and

increasing the recycling of P in residues and wastes”

Per capita P supply

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Italy shows a low P supply for detergents Italy

Fertiliser P consumption in EU-27 in 2010 Source: FAOSTAT and Van Dijk et al.

16

Italy

EU Agricultural P balances

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Source:

Van Dijk et al.,

Italy

EU-27 P losses of different sectors in 2005

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Wastewater

Scientific papers on SCOPUS

phosphorous or phosphorus AND recovery

(AND Italy) (AND wastewater) (AND waste)

[Article title, Abstract, Keywords]

Italy/total = 2.7%

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

An

d I

taly

Pu

bb

lica

zio

ni

Totali

And wastewater

And waste*

and Italy

Scientific papers on SCOPUS

phosphorous or phosphorus AND recovery

(AND wastewater) - (AND waste)

[Article title, Abstract, Keywords]

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

% P

ubb

lica

zio

ni co

n w

aste

wa

ter

opp

ure

wa

ste

*

And wastewater/totali (%)

And waste*/totali (%)

21

Source: P-Rex, FP7 project, www.p-rex.eu; based on Eurostat 2010,

Milieu Ltd 2010 & Destatis 2011. Van Dijk et al.

Sludge destinations in EU-27 in 2010

22

Associazione Italiana per lo Sviluppo dell’Economia Circolare

Italian Association for the Development of the Circular Economy

L’AISEC attempts to collaborate with public agencies, private

companies and non profit organisations to support circular

economy principles and sustainable development

Italian Circular Economy

Stakeholder Platform

Signing

24

Signing

25

Signing

Funding?

Objective

CICERONE will establish a platform which will determine

the priorities and pathways for coordinated R&I for circular

economy.

Funding? CICERONE

CICERONE: partnership

24 organisations

CICERONE

SRIA (Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda)

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Source

NSF (National Science

Foundation), U.S. DOE (U.S.

Department of Energy), and U.S.

EPA (U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency), 2015. Energy-

Positive Water Resource Recovery

Workshop Report. Workshop Date:

April 28–29, 2015. Arlington, VA.

Introduction

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P is essential for life

Although the primary P is renewed on a time scale of millions of years,

the present known reserves are estimated to be exhausted within 50–

400 years depending on P supply and demand dynamics.

Why P supply should be a problem?

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Supply is unstable and reserves are inequitably distributed geographically

Geo-politics: conflicts and instability at source. Sanctions, export tariffs and

quotas

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Demand for P

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• Population growth (urbanisation in developing

country)

• Change of diets: livestock and dairy based food

(increasing meat consumption)

• Biofuels: algae and bioenergy crop production

• Loss of arable land

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Water pollution level per river basin related to human-induced phosphorus

loads from the agricultural, industrial and domestic sectors from 2002-2010.

Basins with a water pollution level above 1 received more phosphorus than

they could assimilate.

Human activity released 1.62 million tons of phosphorus into the

world's freshwater bodies each year. The largest contribution came from

domestic sewage (54 %), followed by agriculture (38 %) and industry (8%).

https://phys.org/news/2018-01-phosphorus-pollution-dangerous-worldwide.html

P as polluter

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 26.5.2014

COM(2014) 297 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN

PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL

COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

On the review of the list of critical raw materials for the EU and the implementation of

the Raw Materials Initiative

{SWD(2014) 171 final}

Economic importance

Su

pp

ly r

isk

Critical raw materials

38

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 26.5.2014

COM(2014) 297 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN

PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL

COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

On the review of the list of critical raw materials for the EU and the implementation of

the Raw Materials Initiative

{SWD(2014) 171 final}

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 26.5.2014

COM(2014) 297 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN

PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL

COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

On the review of the list of critical raw materials for the EU and the implementation of

the Raw Materials Initiative

{SWD(2014) 171 final}

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 26.5.2014

COM(2014) 297 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN

PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL

COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

On the review of the list of critical raw materials for the EU and the implementation of

the Raw Materials Initiative

{SWD(2014) 171 final}

Raw

materials

Main

producers

(2010, 2011,

2012)

Main

sources of

imports into

the EU

(mainly

2012)

Substitutabil

ity index*

End-of-life

recycling

input rate**

Phosphate

rock

China 38 % Morocco 33%

0.98 0% USA 17 % Algeria 13%

Morocco 15 % Russia 11%

List of 20 CRM

Critical raw materials

39

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 26.5.2014

COM(2014) 297 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN

PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL

COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

On the review of the list of critical raw materials for the EU and the implementation of

the Raw Materials Initiative

{SWD(2014) 171 final}

Raw

materials

Main global

producers

(average 2010-2014)

Main importers

to the EU

(average 2010-

2014)

Sources

of EU supply

(average 2010-2014)

Import

relianc

e rate*

Substitutio

n indexes

EI/SR**

End-of-life

recycling

input

rate***

Phosphate

rock

China (44%)

Morocco (13%)

United States (13%)

Morocco (31%)

Russia (18%)

Syria (12%)

Algeria (12%)

Morocco (28%)

Russia (16%)

Syria (11%)

Algeria (10%)

EU – Finland (12%)

88% 1.0 / 1.0 17%

Phosphorus

China (58%)

Vietnam (19%)

Kazakhstan (13%)

United States (11%)

Kazakhstan (77%)

China (14%)

Vietnam (8%)

Kazakhstan (77%)

China (14%)

Vietnam (8%)

100% 0.91 / 0.91 0%

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 13.9.2017

COM(2017) 490 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN

PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL

COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

on the 2017 list of Critical Raw Materials for the EU

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 13.9.2017

COM(2017) 490 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN

PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL

COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

on the 2017 list of Critical Raw Materials for the EU

Critical raw materials

40

(*) The 'Import reliance rate' takes into account global supply and actual EU sourcing in the

calculation of Supply Risk, and it is calculated as follows: EU net imports / (EU net imports + EU

domestic production).

(**) The ‘Substitution index’ is a measure of the difficulty in substituting the material, scored and

weighted across all applications, calculated separately for both Economic Importance and Supply

Risk parameters. Values are between 0 and 1, with 1 being the least substitutable.

The economic importance is corrected by the Substitution Index (SIEI) related to technical and

cost performance of the substitutes for individual applications of each material. The supply risk is

corrected by the Substitution Index (SISR) related to global production, criticality and co-/by-

production of the substitutes for individual applications of each material.

(***) The ‘End-of-life recycling input rate’ measures the ratio of recycling from old scrap to EU

demand of a given raw material, the latter equal to primary and secondary material supply inputs

to the EU.

Raw materials Import

reliance rate*

Substitution

indexes EI/SR**

End-of-life

recycling input

rate***

Phosphate rock 88% 1.0 / 1.0 17%

Phosphorus 100% 0.91 / 0.91 0%

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• Sedimentary Phosphate deposits represent approx. 80% of

the world’s phosphate. Grades typically range between

10% - 30% P2O5

• Commercial grades of phosphate rock concentrate vary

from about 27% to 36% P2O5.

• The grade of most mined ore is below the commercial-

grade range requiring processing.

Source:

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Geological Survey of Finland stakeholder magazine 2/2015

Finland’s reported phosphate rock resources amount to

2,360 million tonnes. The average phosphorus (P2O5 )

content is 4.0 %.

Finland is the only EU country with significant

P-rock resources

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Source:

Changes in EU-27 P inputs 1961-2009

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Phosphate Fertiliser Consumption in Developed &

Developing Countries

45

Global fertilizer P consumption 1961-2010

Source: FAOSTAT and Van Dijk et al.

46

Production vs demand

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Source:

Growth of new markets such as Latin America and

India will result in increasing demand

EU new Regulation on fertilisers

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On 27 March 2019 the UE Parlament approved new rules for fertilisers

Some information (very roughly, the document has more than 300

pages!)

• Applied by the EU Countries in 2022;

• Try to promote the use of fertilisers from organic matter and

secondary raw materials in accordance to circular economy (waste

to resource);

• Possibility of using «new fertilisers»;

• Limit for cadmium at 60 mg/kg. (Can be revised).

• Biostimulants

Alessandro Spagni

alessandro.spagni@enea.it

Thank you for your attention

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