Ostara to unveil new nutrient recovery system

SUFFOLK, Va – The Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) and Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies will officially unveil HRSD’s new Struvite Recovery Facility at HRSD’s Nansemond Treatment Plant in Suffolk, Va., on May 27. This invitation-only event will showcase the first nutrient recovery system of its kind along the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Ostara Board Member Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will give the keynote address.

The facility enhances HRSD’s efforts to recover excess nutrients from wastewater. The recovered nutrients, including phosphorus and nitrogen, are transformed at the Nansemond facility into an environmentally-friendly, commercial fertilizer called Crystal Green, which uses a slow-release formula to ensure that nutrients are absorbed by plants, reducing fertilizer runoff and pollution of the Bay’s ecosystem. Developed by Ostara, this nutrient recovery technology called Pearl, enhances operational efficiency while producing this fertilizer product. In a public-private partnership, HRSD will offset the cost of the production of Crystal Green by selling all of the fertilizer produced at the facility to Ostara, which will be responsible for the marketing and sale of the product.