Mastering the Resource Crisis – Phosphorus Recycling from Sewage Sludge.

Zvládanie krízy z nedostatku zdrojov – Recyklácia fosforu z čistiarenského kalu.

Phosphorus as an important fertilizer component is regarded as a scarce resource.

There are already legal obligations in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria for mandatory phosphorus recycling from sewage sludge (obligations starting in the future, 2026/2029/2033).

Technologies are under development. Recovery processes are not yet completely established (although there are several options existing), while sewage sludge incineration with the purpose of P recovery is currently taking on speed in these countries.

Helga Stoiber holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Technology in Vienna, Austria.

She specialized in fluidized bed technology, with a Master Thesis on continuous CO2 adsorption in a fluidized bed reactor (1993) and a PhD Thesis on the pyrolysis of plastics in an internally circulating fluidized bed reactor (1998). From May to September 1993, she had an ERASMUS scholarship at EMSE Ecole des Mines de St. Etienne, France, where she joined a research project for waste water analysis.

1999 – 2003:

Project engineer in environmental consulting 2003 – 2005: Process engineer with fluidized bed incinerator supplier AE&E Austrian Energy & Environment, including 6 months hot commissioning of a 40 MW bubbling fluidized-bed waste incinerator, as boiler operator in the control room.

2005 – 2018:

Expert for waste incineration in the Industry & Energy Department of the Austrian Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt), including the negotiation of the BREF Waste Incineration Review Process as National Austrian Expert in the Sevilla Process.

Since 2018:

Self-employed as consulting engineer and Senior Partner with UVP Environmental Management and Engineering GmbH.

UVP Environmental Management and Engineering GmbH is an environmental consulting and planning company located in Vienna, with additional offices in the provinces of Upper Austria and Carinthia. UVP’s engineers have more than 30 years of experience in international projects in the fields of Civil Engineering, Water Management, Process Engineering, Waste Management and Environmental Technology.

The main focus of the company is on landfill remediation and identification of contaminated former industrial sites, as well as on thermal treatment plants for waste, residues and biomass, where UVP covers the entire project cycle from concept design, pre-feasibility studies, feasibility studies, environmental impact assessment, permitting procedures, basic engineering, specification and procurement of installation components, start-up and commissioning, performance monitoring to capacity building measures (trainings, workshops) for operational staff, competent authorities, and others.