This demo is considered to be at TRL 7-9 and has been set up at field scale. The trial is running for three years. During the first year, maize is tested. The second and the third year are spinach and early potatoes, respectively. The tested recycling-derived fertilizers are ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate, pig urine, pig slurry, and liquid fraction of digestate.
This demo solution is linked to Nutri2Cycle research line 4 (RL-4: Biobased fertilisers (N, P) and soil enhancers (OC) from agro-residues) and is one of the shortlist priority solutions i.e. sub-research line 4 (Substituting external mineral nutrient input from synthetic fertilisers by recycled organic-based fertilizers in arable farming).
In Flanders, livestock production generates large surpluses of on-farm nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). High P content and uncertainty on N release from animal manure have led to an imposed legal limitation on N and P application rates from animal manure. Since Flemish soils are P-rich, the P has become the limiting factor in manure application, thereby also limiting maximum N application from animal manure. This creates a paradoxical situation where vast quantities of manure are processed or exported out of Flanders while tons of synthetic mineral N-fertilizers are used for crop production. The use of manure recycling derived fertilizers (RDFs) with predictable N release and low P content can counter this situation. At the moment, however, the RDFs derived from animal manure are categorized as animal manure and as such, need to comply with the same legal application constraints. The main goal of the trial is to establish a clear relationship between the amount of N applied by RDF and dry matter production for each applied RDF. The trials are planned to run for three years. During the first year, maize is tested. The second and the third year are spinach and early potatoes, respectively. The tested recycling-derived fertilizers are ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate, pig urine, pig slurry, and liquid fraction of digestate.
This trial provides a great overview of how these products can help to close CNP loops by nutrient recovery from animal manure. The most important function of any fertilizer is supplying the crop with sufficient nutrients. N is the most important nutrient for crops, and its availability is closely linked with crop yield. A mismatch between N supply and crop demand, on the other hand, also leads to nitrogen losses to the environment. Therefore, the focus of this field trial lies on the short-term N-supply to the crop by the fertilizer.
RL4: Biobased fertilisers (N, P) and soil enhancers (OC) from agro-residues
Responsible partners: CA17 – Chamber of agriculture of Charente-Maritime
Country: La Rochelle CEDEX, FRANCE
This demo is considered to be at TRL 7 and has been set up at farms through two exploitation cases, i.e. a crop and agroforestry farm and a biological vineyard farm. For the plot with crop and agroforestry, the goose slurry is applied and the goose manure is applied in two areas with agroforestry. For the plot with organic vineyard, the use of the farm’s own oil cake and other bio-based products depending on regulation are considered.
This demo solution is linked to Nutri2Cycle research line 4 (RL-4: Biobased fertilisers (N, P) and soil enhancers (OC) from agro-residues) and is one of the shortlist priority solutions i.e. sub-research line 3 (Substituting external mineral nutrient input from synthetic fertilisers by recycled organic-based fertilizers in orchards & agroforestry).
In France, there is already a historical use of different types of organic waste. Moreover, with the increasing need for organic wastes collecting and carbon storage to limit climate change, the French government decided to strengthen the policy measures in France in 2018 concerning circular economy and recycling improvement. One proposal was to enhance all bio-waste by returning to the soil as fertilising material, which is a strategy quite aligned with the new EU Fertilisers regulation. However, at the farm scale, even if these recycling activities are considered in terms of good practices for environmental management of waste, and although the NP elements recovery is considered in the fertilization balance, they represent only a little part within the fertilising device of the crop, and they are not considered as efficient as synthetic fertilisers. Consequently, the challenge for the farmers is to go beyond simple management of organic waste to ensure optimal organic fertilization. In the framework of the Nutri2Cycle project, the Chamber of Agriculture proposes a demonstration to assess the potential of using bio-based fertilizers in farms through two exploitation cases. In a farm combining livestock, arable crops and agroforestry and in a biological vineyard farm, this trial aims to recycle farm generated effluents to highlight and understand their fertilizing effect and their carbon storage effect. The monitoring process is set up in one plot for each participating farm with several treatment areas to compare fertilizing modalities in real conditions. The results could help to determine with farmers the steps of their fertilization system to consider reaching a level of optimal fertilising effect with their residues. The demonstration engaged with two agricultural holdings aims to answer a common farmers’ lack of information about organic residues efficiency they produced either as fertiliser or as a soil improver. So, this trial has the purpose of providing farmers with some elements to understand good synchronization between NP inputs from organic material, soil participation and needs of crop in nutrients, and to assess the balance between C storage and organic fertility of the soil. Thus, through the demonstration trial on both cases, this investigation moves from only recycling of the organic residues produced within the farms to a real agronomic use, with a CNP controlled flow from livestock to arable crop with agroforestry, or from arable crop to vine plant.
This operation is a demonstration at field, with a quite simple trial device to be closer to the real conditions of cropping. In both cases, the demonstration is based on the recovery of NP nutrients and C elements from the farm’s organic residues to be used again in other production workshops of the same farm. The case of the farm with livestock and arable crop with agroforestry – the Manicot agricultural holding – provides an example of an organization with a high level of circular economy and a very short loop in nutrient recycling.
RL4: Biobased fertilisers (N, P) and soil enhancers (OC) from agro-residues
Responsible partners: Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology, IRTA
Country: Barcelona, SPAIN
An illustration of ammonia recovery from raw pig slurry in a vacuum evaporation field plant.
This demo is considered to be at TRL 6-7 and has been set up at pilot evaporator at farm scale (6.3 m3). The objective of this trial is to evaluate the ammonia recovery efficiency of a pilot vacuum evaporation system from pig slurry. An ammonia salt solution that can be used as a fertiliser is recovered.
This demo solution is linked to Nutri2Cycle research line 4 (RL-4: Biobased fertilisers (N, P) and soil enhancers (OC) from agro-residues) and is one of the shortlist priority solutions i.e. sub-research line 7 (Pig manure processing and replacing mineral fertilizers).
Livestock manure needs processing to recover nutrients, especially phosphorus and nitrogen, to optimize its management. Ammonia recovery from livestock manure can produce marketable products, such as fertilisers that allow for nitrogen loop closure. The present demo investigation develops low-temperature vacuum evaporation for the recovery of ammonia from livestock manure to obtain a salt solution that can be used as a fertiliser. Compared to conventional ammonia stripping and absorption, vacuum stripping operates at a lower temperature because of lower heating requirements. The field pilot plant is located on a sow farm in the municipality of Navàs (Catalonia, Spain), which has a pig slurry treatment capacity of 10 m3d-1, is composed of a solid-liquid separator, a 6.4 m3 evaporator, a liquid ring vacuum pump, and a lactic acid bubbler. Prior to entering the evaporator, pig slurry is stored in a closed raft, where temperature increasing is favoured by sun heating, and pH value is modified to a range of 9-11 with Ca(OH)2. Each evaporation cycle lasts for 3 hours and is performed at a temperature of 40-45°C and 800 mbar of vacuum. When the vacuum is applied to an enclosed reactor, boiling point temperature decreases to the below normal boiling point, thus reducing energy cost because of lower heating requirement. In addition, gas-phase ammonia mass transfer is boosted by the suction effect of the applied vacuum. With this field plant, it is expected to recover more than 60% of the nitrogen content of the pig slurry from reusing it as a fertiliser and close the N cycle. The recovered ammonia can be in the form of ammonium sulphate, nitrate, or lactate salt solution, among others. Due to the plant simplicity, it is suitable to become an on-farm treatment for decentralised pig slurry management. This technology can be applied directly to raw livestock manure to avoid ammonia gas emissions to the atmosphere or as a subsequent step of an anaerobic digestion process.
This demo investigation addresses the Nutri2Cycle goal as it involves a field plant, which is expected to recover more than 60% of the nitrogen content of the pig slurry to be reused as a fertiliser and close the nitrogen cycle. Furthermore, NH3 emissions to the atmosphere are aimed to be reduced. The processed livestock manure, with lower nitrogen content, should be managed as fertilizer accordingly to its composition (e.g. new N/P ratio) or further processed (e.g., to recover P).
RL4: Biobased fertilisers (N, P) and soil enhancers (OC) from agro-residues
Responsible partner: 3R-BioPhosphate Ltd,
Country: Kajászó, HUNGARY
ABC Animal Bone Char derived Formulated Bio-Phosphate trials for agronomic benefits.
This demo is operational at TRL 8 in deployment conditions and is ready to be commercialized for BioPhosphate product manufacturing at next level TRL9 (20,800 t/y throughput capacity).
Research line and priority:
This demo solution is linked to Nutri2Cycle research line 4 (RL-4: Biobased fertilisers (N, P) and soil enhancers (OC) from agro-residues) and is one of the shortlist priority solutions i.e. sub-research line 8 (P recovery from animal bones).
The apatite mineral based phosphate is the most important fertiliser that is Critical-Raw-Material (EU-COM(2020)474). This is high-phosphorus-density material (35% P2O5) occurring only in two majors forms on this Planet Earth: (i) mined/imported mineral phosphate (naturally containing high level cadmium/uranium that are also technologically enhanced during chemical processing) and (ii) ABC-animal bone-char-biophosphate, which is a macro-porous calcium-phosphate with no detectable contamination, high bio-fertiliser efficiency and material safety at less cost. Any other phosphorus content materials are degradation products of the apatite mineral. Replacing the >85%-imported cadmium/uranium contaminated/chemically processed mineral phosphates urgently needed. The Fertilising-Products-Regulation-(EU2019/1009) aiming to harmonize the European fertiliser manufacturing/quality-determination/use cases and priority promoting the increased use of recycled/recovered/upcycled nutrients to develop resource-efficient circular-economy, targeting transition to biobased-agriculture with greater security/sustainability. The European P-recovery challenge is that <17% phosphorus recycled, majority of the recovered products are low nutrient density (require high costly dose applications/ha), mostly containing accompanying contaminations (pharmaceutical residuals (incl. illicit drugs), over-high PTE’s (Zn/Cu), harmful/high-risk microbiological contaminations) while user costs are high. The identified knowledge gap is that such upcycled/valorised P-product needed, which is economical high-nutrient density (35%P2O5) for cost-efficient low-dose/ha use, contamination free, EU/MS-27 lawful, efficient for creative/wide-range reuse, market competitive, reasonably low/medium priced and available in EU industrial/market dimension. The BioPhosphate demo is set-up in real-world deployment conditions to addresses closing CNP loop to replace mineral P-fertilisers with ABC-animal-bone-char that is added-value upcycled (valorised) from food grade animal bones. The expected/user driven outcome is a creative P-recovery, that is safer-better-less-costly and more user/environment friendly than any other known solutions.
The Animal Bone Char (ABC) Bio-Phosphate is a natural organic product with macroporosus structure and economically high concentrated recovered Phosphorus content. The Bio-Phosphate commercial products are formulated to BIO-NPK-C in any compounds as of user/market demands for both organic and low input farming application cases. The Bio-Phosphate contains high amount of Phosphorus (>30% P2O5) and Calcium (>37%) that are processed to be available for plants, which allows efficient, environmentally safe and renewable phosphorus supply. Beside the highly available recovered phosphorus/calcium content the Bio-Phosphate also contains other important recovered trace elements, and other nutrients, such as potassium and magnesium. The product is a fully safe and economical innovative fertilizer with primarily application in the horticultural organic/low input farming cultivations with combined beneficial and multiple effects.
This demonstration is at operational scale in deployment conditions. Both the BioPhosphate product manufacturing and the product itself is ready to be commercialised at next level TRL9 (20,800 t/y throughput capacity). The biobased fertiliser BioPhosphate production is demonstrated and validated for C, N and P loop closure as follows –
RL4: Biobased fertilisers (N, P) and soil enhancers (OC) from agro-residues
Responsible partner: University of Milan
Country: Milan, ITALY
This demo operates at a pilot-scale facility (TRL 9) consisting of sequential separation and reverse osmosis technologies. The technology mainly uses physical treatments to obtain a sustainable valorization of livestock manure by reducing effluent volume and concentrating nutrients. This solution works with the effluent of a pig farm that indicatively grows 10,000 pigs.
This demo solution is linked to Nutri2Cycle research line 4 (RL-4: Biobased fertilisers (N, P) and soil enhancers (OC) from agro-residues) and is one of the shortlist priority solutions i.e. sub-research line 7 (Pig manure processing and replacing mineral fertilizers).
This solution combines physical and chemical treatments in order to obtain a sustainable process of valorisation of livestock manure. The whole process aims to close CNP loops, since the obtained by-products can be reused in agriculture as fertilizers and soil quality enhancers. The full-scale plant is situated in northern Italy and works with the effluent of a pig farm that indicatively grows 10,000 pigs. The solution exploits sequential separation processes, i.e. screw press separation, vibrating screens and three stages of filtration (Reverse Osmosis, RO), in order to reduce livestock effluent volume removing nitrogen. This technology can work on different substrate, though in this case is applied on swine effluent. There are three end-products:
This solution allows farmers to have more livestock heads thanks to the nutrient recovery and export. The solid fraction is be used in field in pre-sowing and the concentrate is used partly on topdressing and partly exported from the farm.
The separation process goes through three main steps:
While solid/liquid separation of livestock effluent is a well-known technology, studies on further concentration of the liquid fraction and its use in field are insufficient.
This solution is very interesting for closing CNP loops:
• N: some nitrogen (about 15%, mainly in organic form) is in the solid fraction, used as pre-sowing fertilizer/soil improver. Some other remains in Liquid fraction concentrate and finally the exceeding part is exported from the farm as ammonium sulphate.
• C: most of the organic matter in the effluent is in the solid fraction, that can be used as such or after composting in pre-sowing in field. Increasing the quantity of organic matter in soil has a double positive effect of increase fertility and reduce carbon emission thanks to carbon sequestration in the soil.
• P: most of this element is supposed to be found in the solid fraction, the speciation study and the NMR analysis on P compounds greatly improve our knowledge about availability and pathways of this element.
RL4: Biobased fertilisers (N, P) and soil enhancers (OC) from agro-residues
Responsible partner: Istituto Superior de Agronomia , ISA
Country: Lisbon, PORTUGAL
An illustration of field plots and set up of the trial using poultry compost and pig slurry in maize crop.
This demo operates at a field-trial facility (TRL 9) following the practices generally applied in commercial farms, mainly in the pillars of crop production, by covering the agro-typologies of open field cultivation of cereals. The experiment is set-up in a commercial Farm located at Azinhaga (Quinta da Cholda – Portugal) in three contrasting sites, all dedicated to maize production. At each site, basal nitrogen fertilization using mineral fertilizers is replaced by pig slurry or compost application.
This demo solution is linked to Nutri2Cycle research line 4 (RL-4: Biobased fertilisers (N, P) and soil enhancers (OC) from agro-residues) and is one of the shortlist priority solutions i.e. sub-research line 3 (Substituting external mineral nutrient input from synthetic fertilisers by recycled organic based fertilizers in orchards & agroforestry).
Portuguese Farmers need some evidence that mineral fertilizer can “safely” be replaced by organic fertilizers, namely by manure-based fertilizers. Some issues regarding the management and application of such materials need to be clarified/evidenced to farmers namely: (i) the impact on soil health; (ii) the impact on weed development; (iii) the mineral fertilizer replacement potential; and (iv) The ability of these materials to increase soil organic matter (SOM) content. This work provides solution on the potential use of poultry manure compost and pig slurry to replace mineral fertilizers as basal fertilization in maize crop. Therefore, the experiment is set-up in a commercial Farm located at Azinhaga (Quinta da Cholda – Portugal) in three contrasting sites, all dedicated to maize production: site-1) a sandy soil with low organic matter content, submitted to regular application of compost and conventional agriculture practices; site-2) a loamy soil with medium soil organic matter content, no application of organic materials and conventional agriculture practices; and site-3) sandy loam soil under no-tillage practice over the last 15 years. At each site, basal nitrogen fertilization using mineral fertilizers is replaced by pig slurry or compost application. The nitrogen applied using the organic materials is calculated and mineral fertilization is supplemented at a specific moment to level the total nitrogen applied to each plot. Greenhouse gases emissions are measured during maize growth and the crop yield, nutrient recovery and soil health are assessed at the end of the experiment.
This solution aims to give clear evidence to farmers of the benefits and limitations related with the use of organic fertilizers for maize fertilization. It contributes to close the N, C, P loops – close to 30% of the mineral N fertilizer is replaced by a new source of organic N and close the loop of the slurry and compost N by producing same yield of cereals that can be used to feed pigs and poultry. Both compost and slurry contain a significant amount of organic matter that enrich the soil. Increasing the quantity of organic matter in soil has the positive effect of increase soil fertility and overall soil health. Even if the organic fertilizers are applied based on their total N content, they also provide some P to the soil, ensuring the closure of the slurry and compost P cycles, reducing the inputs of mineral P fertilizer.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement nº 101135708. The dissemination of results herein reflects only the author’s view, and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
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