Flushing Out Solutions: A Circular Economy Approach to Phosphorus Recovery
Our #HydroNationChair family is growing! In November 2024, we were delighted to welcome Róisín Dooley-Nealis to our team. Róisín is a post-doctoral researcher working with Ania Escudero at GCU on a 12 month project exploring Market Development for Recovered P. The key goal of the project is to advance the market development of recovered phosphorus in Scotland. Taking a circular economy approach to phosphorus recovery, Róisín will investigate and explore potential markets, as well as the interest and use of recovered phosphorus.
Our Programme Manager Fiona caught up with Róisín to learn more about her project and how small actions in our daily lives can play a big role in driving a #CircularEconomy.
So Roisin, you started this post-doctoral project shortly after completing your own doctoral research at the University of Glasgow.
Q. What is it that you enjoy about research?
What I enjoy most about research is feeding my curiosity, discovering new insights, and striving to make a meaningful impact through my work. My research to date has primarily focused on qualitative methods such as conducting interviews, which has given me the opportunity to meet, listen and speak with such a broad range of people and gain different perspectives.
I agree, that's what I loved about Social Science.
Social science or science, there’s always something new to be discovered or understood further. Constantly pushing the boundaries of what we know and understand and having the potential to bring about positive change is such an exciting space to be in.
Q. So what was your previous education?
Before joining Glasgow Caledonian University, I completed my Undergraduate, Research Masters, and PhD degrees at the University of Glasgow in Business and Management. My PhD research focused on intrapreneurship, exploring how organisations across different sectors internally facilitate innovation and entrepreneurial activities.
During my undergraduate studies, I had the opportunity to spend an Erasmus year at Radboud University in Nijmegen. I also had the opportunity to join the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management at Aalto University in Finland as a visiting researcher during my PhD. Both experiences have greatly enhanced my passion for sustainability.
Q. What great experiences, and exciting to think how they've contributed to your academic journey and expansion of your research interests.
Totally, I became interested and intrigued about the circular Economy and resource recovery during my Erasmus year in the Netherlands, where I was exposed further to sustainability and the circular economy through the courses I studied and the way of life there.
A good few years later, during my PhD, I attended a conference at my Erasmus University that focused on sustainability and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This motivated me to ensure my research would contribute meaningfully to addressing and striving towards the SDGs.
Fortunately, this area of research into resource recovery and the circular economy ties together my interests in sustainability and my PhD background
Q. That's nice, the stars have aligned. So what's the research from this Post-Doc all about?
I am investigating a circular economy approach to phosphorus recovery from wastewater treatment plants to advance Scotland's market development of recovered nutrients.
Phosphorus is a finite resource, and its scarcity poses a significant global challenge; phosphorus runoff is also a major driver of eutrophication. For example, not far from us in Northern Ireland, Lough Neagh has been heavily impacted by human activity, resulting in an overgrowth of harmful blue-green algae. This algae has even spread into nearby rivers and along parts of the coastline! Taking a circular economy approach offers a solution that can bring benefits to the ecological ecosystem and the Scottish economy.
The findings of this research project will hopefully assist in informing strategies for the reuse of other nutrients, such as nitrogen and cellulose, from wastewater.
Q. Sounds really impactful! But what exactly is the circular economy and resource recovery? And why is it so important?
In the traditional linear economy, products are made, used, and disposed of. Whereas, a circular economy focuses on designing products, processes, and systems that allow materials and resources to be reused, recycled, and recovered for as long as possible.
In everyday we use materials and nutrients. Too often, we use them in a single use fashion, and often thrown away before their life cycle is really over. Therefore, resource recovery is about reusing or finding new uses for materials and nutrients that we’d normally throw away or would be seen as waste. A relatable example that a lot of us already contribute to is having a food waste bin, and that food waste being turned into compost.
Q. Cool, so we all have a part to play?
One hundred percent! Small actions in our daily lives—like rethinking what we flush, how we use water, and how we manage waste—can play a big role in driving a circular economy and creating a more sustainable world.
I think people take access to clean water for granted and the process that goes into its management and distribution. Also, the interconnectedness of the system, pollution or mismanagement in one area doesn’t stay local; it can negatively impact ecosystems.
Changing this perception could inspire greater care and conservation across the board.
Q. One last question, do you have a favourite water body?
I’d have to choose the North Channel as it’s the body of water between my hometown on the North Coast of Ireland and across to Scotland.
On a really clear day, you can even see parts of the mainland and the Inner Hebrides. In fact, it’s only 12 miles from Torr Head to the Mull of Kintyre! In Scotland, local to me in Glasgow, White Cart Water, which runs through Pollok Country Park, is a great spot to see different wildlife, such as otters and kingfishers.
