Neofos Project

The progressive depletion of global mineral phosphate resources and their recent classification as Critical Raw Materials have stimulated growing interest in Urban Mining strategies, aimed at fostering local production and reducing dependence on extra‑European suppliers. Phosphorus is indeed a strategic resource, essential both for the agri‑food sector, particularly in fertilizer production, and for the automotive industry, especially for the development of lithium‑iron‑phosphate batteries.

In this context, the NEOFOS project aims to contribute to the development of innovative and circular technologies for phosphorus recovery from urban wastewater treatment processes, which are increasingly recognized as a local and sustainable source of this critical resource.

1. Reduction of operational costs and environmental impacts of treatment and recovery processes

2. Greater economic efficiency and lower environmental impact of the solutions adopted

The NEOFOS project is developed by a consortium composed of four partners, with Gruppo CAP, the water utility managing the integrated water service of the Metropolitan City of Milan, acting as project leader and responsible for overall coordination and full-scale pilot activities.

MM, a company owned by the Municipality of Milan, is a strategic operational partner for the experimental and modelling phases, leveraging the experience gained at its Milano San Rocco and Milano Nosedo treatment plants.

Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) will support modelling activities and the optimization of phosphorus removal and recovery processes, including experimental activities related to phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge mono-incineration ash.

The University of Bologna (UNIBO) will contribute to laboratory-scale optimization of ash recovery processes, as well as to environmental and economic sustainability assessments and the definition of End-of-Waste pathways.

The integration of expertise from utilities and academia will enable a coordinated approach to the different phases of the project, from operational testing to feasibility analyses and the valorization of recovered materials. In this sense, NEOFOS represents a replicable model that can reduce Europe’s dependence on critical raw materials, fostering industrial competitiveness and security of supply. 

• Bareggio and Nosedo plants: application of advanced biological phosphorus removal processes;
• Sesto San Giovanni bio-platform: extraction and purification of phosphorus salts from wastewater and phosphorus recovery from mono-incineration ash;
• San Rocco plant: recovery of mono-incineration ash.