Investigating the Impact of pH on Struvite Phosphorus-Removal Efficiency in Agriculture Water
Chemistry
Savannah Botello
- Grade:
- 12
- Teacher:
- Patricia Garcia
Agricultural fertilizer runoff water contains high phosphorus concentrations, which directly correlates with eutrophication and, ultimately, the depletion of marine life and ecosystems. Often overlooked, agricultural phosphorus pollution has minimal availability of practical solutions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Struvite (MAP) Recovery in solutions of different pHs. Struvite is a compound of magnesium, ammonium, phosphate, and therefore can be used to remove excess phosphorus from runoff field water by adding magnesium and ammonium. Struvite has been shown to increase in P-removal efficiency as pH increased, but this has not been tested in an agricultural environment.