Phosphatfaenger

Challenges

With "Phosphatfänger" (phosphate catcher) we want to contribute to clean waters and the sustainable use of resources.

Due to our way of life, several tonnes of nutrients end up in wastewater every year. If too many of these nutrients end up in the environment, entire ecosystems can collapse (eutrophication). On the other hand, nutrients are urgently needed, especially for agriculture.

One of these nutrients is phosphate. Currently, biological and chemical processes are established in wastewater treatment to remove phosphate. The disadvantage is that the valuable phosphate often ends up as a water-insoluble salt in the sewage sludge and its further isolation is difficult to achieve.

Objectives and project plan

This is exactly where we want to start. Our phosphate scavengers are proteins derived from nature and can specifically bind phosphate and release it again. We apply these proteins to surfaces and thus want to remove the phosphate from the wastewater. The phosphate can be released from the surface and reused as a source of raw materials for agriculture. Our "phosphate scavengers" are also bio-based, highly specific and reusable. With this, we hope to be able to develop a sustainable, but also economic phosphate recovery from wastewater.