(Year 2025)

Process and Materials Design and Optimization (DIOPMA) and Environmental Biotechnology (BA) at the University of Barcelona / Magnesitas Navarras, S.A.

Phosphorus is an essential nutrient in agriculture, but when it accumulates excessively in water bodies, it becomes a pollutant that destabilizes aquatic ecosystems. This environmental challenge has been the focus of a project developed by the University of Barcelona (UB) in collaboration with the company Magnesitas Navarras, S.A.

The research groups Process and Materials Design and Optimization (DIOPMA) and Environmental Biotechnology (BA) at UB have developed a cutting-edge technology for phosphorus recovery in urban wastewater treatment plants.

UB’s technology uses industrial by-products rich in magnesium oxide as a more sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditional chemical reagents. This approach enables the formation of a compound called struvite, which can be reused as fertilizer.

Impact and benefits

This initiative creates a positive impact and benefits across environmental, economic, and social domains. Below are some of the key benefits of the project:

1. Environmental: Reduces phosphorus input into aquatic ecosystems, helping preserve water quality.

2. Resource circularity: Reuses a waste material to recover a valuable nutrient, closing a value cycle and reducing dependence on mineral phosphorus.

3. Economic: The technology is more affordable than traditional methods, making it viable for full-scale treatment plants.

The project was led by researchers Dr. Josep Maria Chimenos, professor at the Faculty of Chemistry at UB, and Dr. Sergi Astals, associate professor at the same faculty, with the collaboration of Magnesitas Navarras, S.A. The project was presented under the “Transfer and Social Impact” initiative of the CRUE Spanish Universities.