Phosphorus and other nutrients found in wastewater can present a host
of problems for treatment plant operators. They can clog internal
piping and pumps, which raises maintenance costs. And treatment plants
are typically restricted by how much phosphorus can end up back in
rivers and other water ways.
Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies, which announced today it raised $14.5 million in venture capital, has
developed a way to remove up to 90 percent of phosphorus and 40 percent
of the ammonia load from sewage sludge and turn it into
commercial-grade slow release fertilizer pellets that can be sold to
nurseries, turf farms, and specialty agriculture businesses. Ostara
plans to use the venture funding, which was raised in a round led by
VantagePoint Capital Partners, to expand its operations.
Farms have reused waste as fertilizer for centuries. Ostara’s tech
puts a new spin on the concept by turning wastewater into a marketable
product on an industrial scale and without using harmful chemicals.
Ostara has four commercial nutrient recovery facilities in operation in the United States, including a system at Clean Water Services, a water utility west of Portland that serves more than 500,000 customers. The $4.5 facility
will be paid for in six years through reduced maintenance costs,
savings from chemical and electrical use and revenue from the sale of
the fertilizer.
Three other facilities are under construction, including one in Canada and its first European operation for Thames Water in London.
Written by Kirsten Korosec@smartplanet
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