Biography
Dr. Ciaran O’Donnell is an Assistant Lecturer and Researcher in the Department of Construction at Munster Technological University (MTU). Ciaran spent several years working on construction projects in the UK, Austria and Ireland.
He completed his PhD in 2022, titled “Closing the modern Irish municipal wastewater phosphorous cycle”. This research has been conducted over four years, as part of the Interreg Phos4you project, at Munster Technological University. The project achieved it aims in closing the phosphorous (P) cycle, across three main research pillars of review, recovery and reuse.
Review: An extensive desk study/literature review was conducted to determine the P deficit and requirements of the Irish agricultural soil, the research reviewed the sources and flows of indigenous P, including that produced in municipal wastewater sludge and wastewater effluent.
Recovery: The recovery section focused on the effluent of the municipal wastewater P-cycle. This research recovered P from Macroom WWTP for reuse as P fertiliser, Macroom WWTP was selected as it was deemed a typical Irish WWTP. P was recovered using the Veolia, Struvia P recovery pilot plant. The pilot plant was sited, modified, commissioned and optimised to recover P from the wastewater effluent stream.
Reuse: The fertilisation effect of the recovered P from Macroom WWTP was analysed using a series of short-term pot trials, using a P deficient artificial growing medium developed by this research. Further testing of the recovered P product was conducted on a series of long-duration field trials. The application of the recovered P on the field trials effectively closed the Irish municipal wastewater P-cycle. Returning P to the soil as a P-rich fertiliser that otherwise would have been lost to the receiving waters and the environment.
Ciaran’s main teaching activities are in Environmental and Energy efficient buildings. In the research space, his main interests lie in the area of renewable energy, waste management, wastewater, nutrient cycling and sustainable agricultural systems.
