Multi-sectorial assessment of phosphorus in Ontario, Canada: Mapping flows and analysis of the potential for recovery and reuse

Edgar Martín-Hernández, Jorge A. Garcia Hernandez, Samantha Gangapersad, Tian Zhao, Sidney Omelon, Roy Brouwer, Céline Vaneeckhaute*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

59 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Phosphorus is a key non-renewable element used in multiple economic activities, and notably for food production. It is therefore a critical material whose recovery is gaining interest. This work maps the annual phosphorus flows across Ontario's economic sectors through material flow analysis using open data sources. This information is used to identify potential opportunities for phosphorus recovery and recycling, all while performing an economic assessment to determine the feasibility of phosphorus recovery from different sectors. Up to 86% of phosphorus imports for food production could be covered by recycled phosphorus, with an average recovery cost of 49 CAD/kg of phosphorus. This cost is lower than the estimated economic losses caused by phosphorus releases into the environment, although it is significantly higher than the cost of fossil-based phosphorus products. However, phosphorus recovery costs vary widely for different waste streams, suggesting the need of exploring cooperative approaches for effective phosphorus recovery at regional scale.

Original languageEnglish
Article number107108
Pages (from-to)1-11
Number of pages11
JournalResources, Conservation and Recycling
Volume197
Early online date18 Jul 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The Government of Canada through the Department of Environment and Climate Change provided financial support to Pollution Probe to perform the study of P flows through Ontario's economy in collaboration with Canadian academic experts on P and nutrient reuse and recovery and their teams as part of the Mapping Phosphorus Flows in the Ontario Economy project. This work further builds on findings from the Mapping Phosphorus Flows in the Ontario Economy project in exploring the role for nutrient recovery and reuse technologies and solutions. Céline Vaneeckhaute holds the Canada Research Chair in Resource Recovery and Bioproducts Engineering. Céline Vaneeckhaute is financed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada through the award of an NSERC Discovery Grant (RGPIN-2017-04838).

Funding Information:
The Government of Canada through the Department of Environment and Climate Change provided financial support to Pollution Probe to perform the study of P flows through Ontario's economy in collaboration with Canadian academic experts on P and nutrient reuse and recovery and their teams as part of the Mapping Phosphorus Flows in the Ontario Economy project. This work further builds on findings from the Mapping Phosphorus Flows in the Ontario Economy project in exploring the role for nutrient recovery and reuse technologies and solutions. Céline Vaneeckhaute holds the Canada Research Chair in Resource Recovery and Bioproducts Engineering. Céline Vaneeckhaute is financed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada through the award of an NSERC Discovery Grant ( RGPIN-2017-04838 ).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier B.V.

Funding

The Government of Canada through the Department of Environment and Climate Change provided financial support to Pollution Probe to perform the study of P flows through Ontario's economy in collaboration with Canadian academic experts on P and nutrient reuse and recovery and their teams as part of the Mapping Phosphorus Flows in the Ontario Economy project. This work further builds on findings from the Mapping Phosphorus Flows in the Ontario Economy project in exploring the role for nutrient recovery and reuse technologies and solutions. Céline Vaneeckhaute holds the Canada Research Chair in Resource Recovery and Bioproducts Engineering. Céline Vaneeckhaute is financed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada through the award of an NSERC Discovery Grant (RGPIN-2017-04838). The Government of Canada through the Department of Environment and Climate Change provided financial support to Pollution Probe to perform the study of P flows through Ontario's economy in collaboration with Canadian academic experts on P and nutrient reuse and recovery and their teams as part of the Mapping Phosphorus Flows in the Ontario Economy project. This work further builds on findings from the Mapping Phosphorus Flows in the Ontario Economy project in exploring the role for nutrient recovery and reuse technologies and solutions. Céline Vaneeckhaute holds the Canada Research Chair in Resource Recovery and Bioproducts Engineering. Céline Vaneeckhaute is financed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada through the award of an NSERC Discovery Grant ( RGPIN-2017-04838 ).

FundersFunder number
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of CanadaRGPIN-2017-04838
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Canada Research Chairs
Directorate of Environment and Climate Change, India

    Keywords

    • Circular economy
    • Eutrophication
    • Food sovereignty
    • Nutrient pollution
    • Phosphorus recovery

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Multi-sectorial assessment of phosphorus in Ontario, Canada: Mapping flows and analysis of the potential for recovery and reuse'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this