Governor Phil Scott announced over $1 million in state funding awarded to five groups, including the Village of Essex Junction/UVM, for innovative technologies to separate and extract phosphorus from various waste streams as part of Stage Three of the Vermont Phosphorus Innovation Challenge (VPIC). “These innovative projects not only enhance our efforts to restore Vermont’s waterways but also promote economic growth and environmental sustainability,” said Governor Scott. “Congratulations to the groups who are moving on in the completion and I look forward to seeing your creative solutions develop in the coming months.”
VPIC was announced in February 2018 as an X-Prize style competition to harness creative solutions to address phosphorus pollution in Vermont. VPIC complements ongoing, essential work to install conservation measures and best management practices to reduce phosphorus losses from farms and in stormwater runoff from developed lands. Of the 27 initial VPIC applicants, six groups were selected for initial funding awards. The final component of Stage Two for VPIC was the submission of a final business report earlier this fall. These reports included a detailed business plan describing the method, process and costs for full implementation; the proven ability of the technologies to recover phosphorus; the potential revenue streams associated with recovered phosphorus; and an explanation of the suitability of technology or practice to address Vermont’s existing phosphorus challenge. The business plan also described additional available funding and investments outside of state resources to help fully scale implementation of each proposal.
Here are more details about Essex Junction/UVM project, and $58,907 award:
Struvite generation systems are employed to remove Phosphorus from waste streams originating from water resource recovery facilities. The new Pe−Phlo System allows for controlled formation and removal of Struvite and Vivianite outside of the treatment process. The collected Struvite can be processed as a fertilizer resource outside of the wastewater facility. Pe−Phlo is viable on a small-scale application because it uses an innovative application of pipeline descaling technology as a means of enhancing crystalline Struvite generation and Phosphorus removal. It also uses a proprietary electrical field on the filter that allows for efficient capture of the Struvite crystals generated. Pe−Phlo enhanced Struvite generation and capture improves the scalability to Vermont-sized water resource recovery facilities and Vermont sized farms. For more information on the VPIC visit:
http://agriculture.vermont.gov/Vermont_Phosphorus_Innovation_Challenge.