Publication: Quantification of phosphorus flows throughout the consumption system of Bangkok Metropolis, Thailand
Issued Date
2016-01-15
Resource Type
ISSN
18791026
00489697
00489697
Other identifier(s)
2-s2.0-84949239026
Rights
Mahidol University
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Science of the Total Environment. Vol.542, (2016), 1106-1116
Suggested Citation
Bussarakam Thitanuwat, Chongchin Polprasert, Andrew J. Englande Quantification of phosphorus flows throughout the consumption system of Bangkok Metropolis, Thailand. Science of the Total Environment. Vol.542, (2016), 1106-1116. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.09.065 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/40668
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Title
Quantification of phosphorus flows throughout the consumption system of Bangkok Metropolis, Thailand
Abstract
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Due to unequal distribution of the world's Phosphorus (P) sources for fertilizer production, an evaluation of P flows throughout the consumption system of a city is needed. The prime objective of this paper is to assess and prioritize P recovery options as to bring about, as much as possible, a close-looped P-for-food system. Using the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) as a case study, the aim of this work is to quantify the potential mass flow of P for four major types of urban wastes: domestic wastewater (DWW), septage sludge (SS), food waste (FW) and green garbage (GB) and to determine the recoverable stock of P available. The consumption of food and supplements such as cleansing products and fertilizer is estimated at a rate of 1146.4g P·cap-1·year-1. P contained in wastes being discarded from its average 7.9 million population plus 33.8 million Bangkok-visiting tourists per annum is determined to be 8.01kt P annually. Only 4% of the above quantity is recycled and used internally for cultivating plants grown in public parks. An annual amount of 7.68kt P was found to be disposed of in landfills (6.23kt P) and in the river systems (1.45kt P). From the findings of this study, therefore, it is recommended that P recovery efforts from BMA's urban wastes should be focused on wastes enrouted to landfills since these constitute 81% of P discarded. As a consequence, solid waste combustion coupled with energy recovery from P-binding organics may be an appropriate means of P recovery. This technology has the potential to reduce waste volume, generate electricity, and produce P-containing ash that can be used for further application on farm lands.