Phosphorus and Nitrogen are two essential nutrients for living organisms and are widely used in the

agriculture industry as ingredients for fertilizers. However, there is a threat in the supply, especially that the
main source of phosphorus are phosphate rocks, which are only found in specific areas, making these rocks
vital and limiting source.
In the Philippines, it was found that 37% of the total water pollution comes from agricultural
practices such as fertilizer, pesticide runoff, animal waste, detergents and untreated sewage in domestic
waste-water, where all sources contain a significant amount of phosphorus. While it is beneficial, excessive
amounts of this element in the soil can cause eutrophication which leads to over production of toxic algae,
resulting to green discoloration and deterioration of water, as well as animal kill in the bodies of water.
Eutrophication in the Philippines is one of the concerns when it comes to the bodies of water.
According to the study of Reyes (2012), domestic, industrial, agricultural, and forest sources heavily
contribute to the eutrophication of lakes, contributing 39,622 MT of nitrogen and 9506 MT of phosphorus.
This may be due to the reason that more than 80% of waste-water remains untreated and released to the
environment. Because majority of the waste-water in Metro Manila are untreated, this resulted to heavily
contaminated and polluted waters. Thus, it is of significance to find ways in removing phosphorus from
wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and recover as beneficial products.
Phosphorus can be recovered in the form of phosphate, which is to be used as fertilizer. Though
fertilizers containing phosphate may be conventional or slow-release, these types of fertilizers would help
minimize nutriend release and limit problems such as eutrophication.
Struvite, a slow-release fertilizer, is made up of magnesium, ammonium, and phosphate. It is known
for causing no harm to crops even when used in high dosage. Phosphorus can also be recovered by the
formation of struvite from septage sludge.
The process, struvite precipitation in particular, is still being investigated with studies primarily
concentrated on the reduction of the dissolved phosphate concentration to meet the effluent standards in
WWTPs.
This study aims to recover phosphorus from septage sludge by struvite formation in laboratory scale.
The septage sludge is obtained from a septage treatment plant in Metro Manila. This undergoes hydrolysis
and precipitation without undergoing any other pretreatment processes.