Electrochemical removal and recovery of phosphorus from wastewater using cathodic membrane filtration reactor

Removal and recovery of phosphorus (P) from wastewater is of great importance to addressing the challenges of eutrophication and phosphorus shortage. The P removal and recovery performance of conventional electrochemical precipitation approach was constrained by the limited mass transfer rate. Herein, a cathodic membrane filtration (CMF) reactor was developed using Ti/SnO₂-Sb anode and titanium mesh cathodic membrane module to achieve efficient removal and recovery of P in wastewater. Compared with the flow-by mode, the CMF system in the flow-through mode exhibited excellent P removal performance due to the markedly enhanced mass transfer. At the current density of 4 A/m², membrane flux of 16.6 L m^?2 h^?1, and Ca/P molar ratio of 1.67, the removal efficiency of P was 96.2% and the energy consumption was only 45.7 kWh/kg P. The local high pH of cathode surface played a vital role in P removal, which substantially accelerated the nucleation of calcium phosphate (CaP). Based on the crystalline and morphological characterization of the precipitates, the hydroxyapatite was the most stable crystalline phase of CaP, which was transformed from intermediate phases (such as dicalcium phosphate and amorphous calcium phosphate). This study paves the way for applying electrochemical membrane filtration system for P removal and recovery from wastewater.