title: Pretreated magnesite as a source of low-cost magnesium for producing struvite from urine in Nepal.
abstract: Struvite is a solid phosphorus fertilizer that can be recovered easily from source-separated urine by dosing it with a soluble form of magnesium. The process is simple and low-cost, however, previous studies have shown that the cost of magnesium in low-income countries is crucial to the viability and implementation of struvite precipitation. Literature has proposed producing inexpensive magnesium locally by making magnesium oxide from magnesite. This paper aimed to investigate whether process requirements, costs, and environmental impacts would make this process viable for magnesium production in decentralized settings. Magnesite samples were calcined at temperatures between 400 °C and 800 °C and for durations between 0.5 h and 6 h. The release of magnesium was tested by dissolution in phosphate-depleted urine. The optimal processing conditions were at 700 °C for 1h: magnesite conversion was incomplete at lower temperatures, and the formation of large crystallites caused a decrease in solubility at higher temperatures. The narrow optimal range for magnesium production from magnesite requires reliable process control. Cost estimations for Nepal showed that using local magnesite would provide the cheapest source of magnesium and that CO2 emissions from transport and production would be negligible compared to Nepal's overall CO2 emissions.
authors.affiliation: Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krähenbühl
authors.affiliation: Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Bastian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Etter
authors.affiliation: Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland. Electronic address: kai.udert@eawag.ch.
authors.forename: Kai M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Udert
mesh_terms: D011232:Chemical Precipitation; D005308:Fertilizers; D055772:Green Chemistry Technology / Q000379:methods*; D008274:Magnesium / Q000737:chemistry*; D017616:Magnesium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D009390:Nepal; D010710:Phosphates / Q000737:chemistry*; D000069877:Struvite
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D017616:Magnesium Compounds; D010710:Phosphates; C005479:magnesium carbonate; D000069877:Struvite; D008274:Magnesium
keywords: Calcination; Magnesite; Magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP); Nutrient recovery; Struvite precipitation; Urine separation