Abstract
Nitrogen recovery from wastewater is increasingly framed as a key strategy for circular nutrient management. This study examines the performance and upscaling challenges of three emerging nitrogen-recovery technologies - vacuum membrane stripping, bipolar membrane electrodialysis, struvite precipitation combined with ammonia valorization pathways - in the Dutch wastewater sector. Using a mixed qualitative approach combining technical literature synthesis, expert interviews, and document analysis, the study assesses technological maturity and identifies constraints affecting large-scale implementation. The findings indicate strong recovery potential but show that diffusion is limited by operational complexity, system integration challenges, and uncertain economic and regulatory conditions. The study highlights the need to align technological development with institutional and infrastructural change to enable the transition from pilot-scale experiments to systemic innovation in wastewater management.
Total Environment Engineering is a partner journal of Science of the Total Environment (ranked top 10 overall Google Scholar Journal Rankings)
Total Environment Engineering is a partner journal of Science of the Total Environment (ranked top 10 overall Google Scholar Journal Rankings)
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 100062 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-10 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Total Environment Engineering |
| Volume | 6 |
| Early online date | 2 Jan 2026 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 2 Jan 2026 |
Keywords
- Nitrogen recovery
- wastewater treatment plant (WWTP)
- circular economy
- valorization
- Netherlands
- Upscaling