Unlocking the phosphorus circularity potential of corn belt watersheds with biorefinery phosphorus recovery incentives

As global phosphorus (P) stores rapidly decline, P fed algal blooms continue to threaten critical freshwater resources across the globe. In the Midwestern United States (US), particularly the Corn Belt, biorefineries could play a key role in addressing this issue. By recovering P from the byproducts of ethanol production these facilities could reduce the P content of distillers grain feed, thereby reducing P excreted in manures. This process could potentially divert P away from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and toward renewable P (rP) fertilizer production utilizing the recovered P. To foster the inclusion of P recovery incentives in state nutrient reduction strategies, this study elucidates the cascading benefits of rP recovery from corn biorefineries in watersheds across six Upper Midwestern states. Incentivizing P recovery in watersheds that contain both biorefineries and CAFOs could foster the production of 107,500 metric tons (MT) rP fertilizer while diverting 26,800 MT P from CAFO wastes each year, nearly double the estimated P reduction potential for municipal wastewater in the analysis region. These estimates can inform nutrient reduction analysts and policymakers in determining P load reduction potential. To further guide incentive strategies, four priority watersheds are highlighted to illustrate P reduction and circularity typologies across the region.