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RAHI 2 project 2023–2025

The main objective of the project is to continue scaling RAVITA™ technology based on the results of the RAHI project, as well as to ensure commercially sustainable development and operation. The first subtask of the project focuses on exploring the national potential of phosphorus recovery. The second objective is to further improve the recovery of phosphorus in accordance with the results obtained in the RAHI project using the 1000 PE pilot equipment at the Viikinmäki wastewater treatment plant. The project is funded by the Ministry of the Environment and the source of funding is Next Generation EU.

Previous projects

RAHI project 2021–2022

The aim of the project was to bring the production of chemical sludge to industrial scale and evaluate the commercial preconditions and quality of the RAVITA intermediate product. The second objective of the project was optimising the dissolution and extraction process and ensuring the design bases and commercial preconditions of the full-scale pilot plant. The project utilised the 1,000 PE pilot equipment of the dissolution and extraction process of the Viikinmäki wastewater treatment plant. The project was funded by The Ministry of the Environment.

Key project 2017–2018 (RAVITA DEMO)

The Ministry of the Environment granted key Government project funding for the RAVITA project (funding period 5/2017–12/2018). Funding was provided for three projects that piloted new ways to produce fertilisers or their raw materials at municipal wastewater treatment plants. With the key project funding, a demo plant was built at the Viikinmäki wastewater treatment plant, enabling the transition from laboratory-scale to pilot-scale in the dissolution of precipitate.

Nutrient recycling 2016–2017 (RAKI RAVITA)

The purpose of this project was to explore the possibility of developing the treatment of the post-precipitation chemical phosphorus sludge studied in the RAKI post-phosphorus project in such a way as to create either a raw material for the fertiliser industry or a product suitable as a finished end product. The project further developed the sub-processes studied in the RAKI post-phosphorus and RAKI reject nitrogen projects by optimising them (minimising chemical quantities, costs and possible side streams). The project also produced preliminary rated values for the pilot design.

Post-phosphorus and reject nitrogen projects 2014–2016

The RAKI funding from the Ministry of the Environment was used in 2014 to study tertiary phosphorus removal treatment by means of disc filtration. The research was continued in 2015 in the RAKI post-phosphorus project, which investigated the post-precipitation of phosphorus and its potential benefits for nutrient recycling with the help of laboratory tests. 

Alongside the RAKI post-phosphorus project, the RAKI reject nitrogen project was launched in 2015 to study nitrogen removal from reject water using a biological process. In addition to piloting the biological process, the project involved the preparation of a preliminary consultant report on the implementation of nitrogen removal and recovery by physico-chemical methods.