Potential Pitfalls in Wastewater Phosphorus Analysis and How to Avoid Them
| Autor: | Praveen Rosario, Ramya Viswash, Thamayanthi Seenivasan, Sudha Ramalingam, Katelyn L Sellgren, Sonia Grego, Lena Trotochaud |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Environmental Health Insights, Vol 15 (2021) |
| Druh dokumentu: | article |
| ISSN: | 1178-6302 11786302 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/11786302211019218 |
| Popis: | Due to the increasing adoption of nutrient discharge regulations, many research groups are stepping into new territory with phosphorus (P) measurements. Accurate reporting of P concentrations in effluent from novel wastewater treatment technologies is critical for protecting both environmental and human health. Analysis of P in wastewater is prone to pitfalls because of the (1) variety of chemical forms of P in wastewater (orthophosphate, condensed P, and organic P), (2) availability of different chemical assays for measuring different P forms, and (3) different conventions in the units for reporting P. Here, we present a case study highlighting how these pitfalls affect analysis and interpretation of P measurements. We show that, when used appropriately, commercially-available kits are indeed accurate tools for evaluating reactive P and total P concentrations. For both standard solutions and real wastewater, we systematically remove steps from the total P protocol to show how protocol deviations affect the results. While standard solutions are important for validating analytical methods, commercially-available wastewater standard solutions only contain P as orthophosphate (reactive P). We therefore demonstrate options for making a mixed-P standard solution containing acid-hydrolyzable and/or organic P compounds that can be used to validate both reactive P and total P assays. |
| Databáze: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
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