IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v15y2025i13p1352-d1686820.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Full Chain of Applying Struvite Recovered from Biogas Slurry to Promote Vegetable Growth

Author

Listed:
  • Yunhan Li

    (Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
    Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Plant Resources, Nanjing 210014, China
    Jiangsu Engineering Research Center of Aquatic Plant Resources and Water Environment Remediation, Nanjing 210014, China)

  • Wei Wang

    (Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
    Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Plant Resources, Nanjing 210014, China
    Jiangsu Engineering Research Center of Aquatic Plant Resources and Water Environment Remediation, Nanjing 210014, China
    College of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China)

  • Linhe Sun

    (Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
    Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Plant Resources, Nanjing 210014, China
    Jiangsu Engineering Research Center of Aquatic Plant Resources and Water Environment Remediation, Nanjing 210014, China)

  • Jian Cui

    (Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
    Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Plant Resources, Nanjing 210014, China
    Jiangsu Engineering Research Center of Aquatic Plant Resources and Water Environment Remediation, Nanjing 210014, China)

  • Xiaojing Liu

    (Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
    Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Plant Resources, Nanjing 210014, China
    Jiangsu Engineering Research Center of Aquatic Plant Resources and Water Environment Remediation, Nanjing 210014, China)

  • Jixiang Liu

    (Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
    Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Plant Resources, Nanjing 210014, China
    Jiangsu Engineering Research Center of Aquatic Plant Resources and Water Environment Remediation, Nanjing 210014, China)

  • Yajun Chang

    (Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
    Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Plant Resources, Nanjing 210014, China
    Jiangsu Engineering Research Center of Aquatic Plant Resources and Water Environment Remediation, Nanjing 210014, China)

  • Dongrui Yao

    (Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
    Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Plant Resources, Nanjing 210014, China
    Jiangsu Engineering Research Center of Aquatic Plant Resources and Water Environment Remediation, Nanjing 210014, China)

Abstract

The expansion of the livestock industry has led to an increase in biogas slurry discharge, which contains high levels of nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P). Struvite precipitation is an effective method for the recovery of N and P from biogas slurry, and the recovered N and P can be applied as a slow-release fertilizer in agricultural production. To form an industrial chain for struvite recovery and application in agriculture, we investigated the factors affecting struvite recovery from biogas slurry generated on a pig farm and evaluated its efficacy as a fertilizer. The N and P recovery efficiency was higher when magnesium chloride (MgCl 2 ) was used as a magnesium (Mg) source compared with magnesium oxide (MgO), and the optimal reaction conditions were pH 10, a reaction time of 20 min, a stirring rate of 200 rpm, and a Mg/P/N ratio of 1.2:1.0:1.0, which achieved N and P recovery rates of 81.83% and 99.67%, respectively. To further investigate the commercial utility of using struvite recovered from biogas slurry as a fertilizer, the growth and content of nutrients in two common vegetables in China were measured. The vegetable quality-related parameters of bock choy ( Brassica chinensis ) improved as the proportion of struvite in the fertilizer increased. Fresh weight, soluble sugar, and soluble protein increased by 194.47%, 46.13%, and 82.42%, respectively. The quality-related parameters of water celery ( Oenanthe javanica (Blume) DC.) increased with an increasing proportion of struvite (27.90 mg·g −1 soluble sugar and 42.20 mg·g −1 soluble protein). The application of struvite precipitated from biogas slurry in plant cultivation shows great potential and lays a solid foundation for the resourceful recovery and utilization of biogas slurry.

Suggested Citation

  • Yunhan Li & Wei Wang & Linhe Sun & Jian Cui & Xiaojing Liu & Jixiang Liu & Yajun Chang & Dongrui Yao, 2025. "A Full Chain of Applying Struvite Recovered from Biogas Slurry to Promote Vegetable Growth," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-18, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:13:p:1352-:d:1686820
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/13/1352/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/13/1352/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carolina González-Morales & Belén Fernández & Francisco J. Molina & Darío Naranjo-Fernández & Adriana Matamoros-Veloza & Miller Alonso Camargo-Valero, 2021. "Influence of pH and Temperature on Struvite Purity and Recovery from Anaerobic Digestate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-14, September.
    2. Barampouti, E.M. & Mai, S. & Malamis, D. & Moustakas, K. & Loizidou, M., 2020. "Exploring technological alternatives of nutrient recovery from digestate as a secondary resource," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alessandro Abbà & Marta Domini & Marco Baldi & Roberta Pedrazzani & Giorgio Bertanza, 2023. "Ammonia Recovery from Livestock Manure Digestate through an Air-Bubble Stripping Reactor: Evaluation of Performance and Energy Balance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-15, February.
    2. Eliza Kulbat & Krzysztof Czerwionka, 2023. "Influence of Phosphorus Speciation on Its Chemical Removal from Reject Water from Dewatering of Municipal Sewage Sludge," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-12, January.
    3. Nicola Di Costanzo & Alessandra Cesaro & Francesco Di Capua & Giovanni Esposito, 2021. "Exploiting the Nutrient Potential of Anaerobically Digested Sewage Sludge: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-25, December.
    4. Francesco Facchini & Giovanni Mummolo & Micaela Vitti, 2021. "Scenario Analysis for Selecting Sewage Sludge-to-Energy/Matter Recovery Processes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-21, January.
    5. Naga Sai Tejaswi Uppuluri & Konstantin Dinkler & Xueling Ran & Jianbin Guo & Joachim Müller & Hans Oechsner, 2023. "Effect of Reactive and Non-Reactive Additive Treatment on the Recovery of Phosphorus from Biogas Digestate," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-16, July.
    6. Berta Riaño & Verónica Oliveira & Celia Dias-Ferreira & Beatriz Molinuevo-Salces & Maria Cruz García-González, 2025. "Combining Novel Membrane Technologies for Sustainable Nutrient Recovery from Digestate: Effect of Solid Content," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-19, March.
    7. Khoshnevisan, Benyamin & He, Li & Xu, Mingyi & Valverde-Pérez, Borja & Sillman, Jani & Mitraka, Georgia-Christina & Kougias, Panagiotis G. & Zhang, Yifeng & Yan, Shuiping & Ji, Long & Carbajales-Dale,, 2022. "From renewable energy to sustainable protein sources: Advancement, challenges, and future roadmaps," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    8. Oluwafunmilayo Abiola Aworanti & Oluseye Omotoso Agbede & Samuel Enahoro Agarry & Ayobami Olu Ajani & Oyetola Ogunkunle & Opeyeolu Timothy Laseinde & S. M. Ashrafur Rahman & Islam Md Rizwanul Fattah, 2023. "Decoding Anaerobic Digestion: A Holistic Analysis of Biomass Waste Technology, Process Kinetics, and Operational Variables," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-36, April.
    9. Linas Jurgutis & Alvyra Šlepetienė & Jonas Šlepetys & Jurgita Cesevičienė, 2021. "Towards a Full Circular Economy in Biogas Plants: Sustainable Management of Digestate for Growing Biomass Feedstocks and Use as Biofertilizer," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-14, July.
    10. Andreas Kolb & Tim Gebhardt & Thomas Dockhorn, 2025. "Struvite Precipitation from Centrate—Identifying the Best Balance Between Effectiveness and Resource Efficiency," Resources, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-18, March.
    11. Aridi, Rima & Faraj, Jalal & Ali, Samer & Lemenand, Thierry & khaled, Mahmoud, 2022. "A comprehensive review on hybrid heat recovery systems: Classifications, applications, pros and cons, and new systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    12. Camila Ester Hollas & Alice Chiapetti Bolsan & Bruno Venturin & Gabriela Bonassa & Deisi Cristina Tápparo & Daniela Cândido & Fabiane Goldschmidt Antes & Matias B. Vanotti & Ariel A. Szögi & Airton Ku, 2021. "Second-Generation Phosphorus: Recovery from Wastes towards the Sustainability of Production Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-30, May.
    13. Wojciech Czekała & Tomasz Jasiński & Mieczysław Grzelak & Kamil Witaszek & Jacek Dach, 2022. "Biogas Plant Operation: Digestate as the Valuable Product," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-11, November.
    14. Işık Kabdaşlı & Alessio Siciliano & Carlo Limonti & Olcay Tünay, 2022. "Is K-Struvite Precipitation a Plausible Nutrient Recovery Method from Potassium-Containing Wastes?—A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-35, September.
    15. Malhotra, Milan & Aboudi, Kaoutar & Pisharody, Lakshmi & Singh, Ayush & Banu, J. Rajesh & Bhatia, Shashi Kant & Varjani, Sunita & Kumar, Sunil & González-Fernández, Cristina & Kumar, Sumant & Singh, R, 2022. "Biorefinery of anaerobic digestate in a circular bioeconomy: Opportunities, challenges and perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    16. Zhang, Qifan & Wang, Shiya & Sun, Hangyu & Arhin, Samuel Gyebi & Yang, Ziyi & Liu, Guangqing & Tong, Yen Wah & Tian, Hailin & Wang, Wen, 2024. "Anaerobic digestion + pyrolysis integrated system for food waste treatment achieving both environmental and economic benefits," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:13:p:1352-:d:1686820. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.