NewFert. Nutrient recovery from biobased waste for

fertiliser production

(H2020-BBI-PPP-2014-1)

Javier Brañas - Fertiberia Antonio Morán – University of León

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PRODUCTION PLANTS

The chemical division of VILLAR-MIR Group

:

9 in Spain

3 in Portugal

2 in Argeria

Production capacity

SOLID FERTILIZERS CONVENTIONALS: Ammonium Nitrates Urea Compound NPK Ammonium Nitrosulphate SPECIALITIES: Compound NPK Nitrogen Fertilizers Others

FERTIGATION and INTENSIVE FARMING

LIQUIDS: Nitrogen solutions NPK FOLIARS: Aminoacids Biostimulants Micronutrients SOLUBLE FERTILIZERS: Calcium nitrate Soluble urea Monoammonium Phosphate …

GARDEN LINE and ORGANIC

GARDENING: Coated fertilizers Plant protection Specialities for certain plants Others ORGANIC: Rock phosphates Calcareous amendments Organic fertilizers

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS Industrial urea Technical nitrates AdBlue Reagents Ammonia solutions Urea solutions Calcium Nitrate Nitric acid Ammonia Strontium nitrate Ammonium phosphates …

OTHERS Plant protection products Certified seeds Technical services Agronomical analysis

Portfolio

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Some facts: • Essential nutrients in plants although the content in the plant

is in a modest concentration (2 g P per kilo of dry matter).

• Irreplaceable / have no substitutes

• The lithosphere has a low nutrient content (i.e. P: granite has 0.6 g kg–1; slate: 0.8 g kg–1; basalt: 1.5 g kg–1)

• They are not available for the plants in many cases (i.e. P: almost all of it in the same package: apatite)

Minimum P needs:

0,6-0,7 g P per person and day

The importance of essential nutrients

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The importance of essential nutrients

Ionic forms used by the plants

NITROGEN

PHOSPHORUS

POTASSIUM

Days after planting

JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER JUNE

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120

Nutrients absorption

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P

K

N

Ca

Mg

S

P K

N Ca

Mg

S

P K N

Ca

Mg

S

P

K

N

Ca

Mg

S

P K N Ca

Mg

S

P

K

N

Ca Mg

S

N P

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ORGANIC AMENDMENTS

Organic P in Biomass and organic matter;

Soluble organic P

CROP STUBBLE

Crop P uptake

PO4 ions in the soil solution •HPO4

-2

•H2PO4-1

P secondary minerals (CaP, FeP, AlP, …) Dissolution

Precipitation

P adsorbed in clays, Fe and Al

oxides and organic complex

Primary P minerals:

apatite

Leaching and side fluxes

Soluble and particulate P erosion and runoff

P cycle

ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION

P concentration (as PO43-) in the soil solution is

below 10-6 M in many virgin or non-fertilized soils, and between 10-6 to 10-4 M in many fertilized soils. …. that means it lasts less than a sweet at the gates of a school

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Therefore, it is necessary to keep an adequate P level in the soil solution

P cycle & Fertilizers

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ORGANIC AMENDMENTS

Organic P in Biomass and organic matter;

Soluble organic P

CROP STUBBLE

Crop P uptake

PO4 ions in the soil solution •HPO4

-2

•H2PO4-1

P secondary minerals (CaP, FeP, AlP, …) Dissolution

Precipitation

P adsorbed in clays, Fe and Al

oxides and organic complex

ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION

MINERAL SOLUBLE FERTILIZER

PHOSPHATE ROCK (Apatite)

Minerales primarios de P:

apatitos

Leaching and side fluxes

Soluble and particulate P erosion and runoff

P cicle & Fertilizers ….and it is here where fertilizers play a key role

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Organic N

H U M U S

Decomposition

ORGANIC MATER

Organic Amendments NH3

Volat

izatio

n

Mineralization

Inmovilization MINERAL N

COLOIDE

NH4+

Leaching NO3-

MINERAL FERTILIZERS

N2, N2O NH3

Chem

ical fi

xatio

n

NH4+ NO3- Nitrification

SOIL SOLUTION

Atmosferic N

N cicle & Fertilizers

Which is the role of fertilizers? to increase the concentration of soluble nutrient forms in the soil solution, in such a way that they will be more easily available for the roots

Fertilizers

Fertilizer industry

Natural Phosphates Phosphate Rock

Phosphoric Ac. + Sulphuric Ac. + Ammonia Ammonium Phosphates

Superphosphates + Sulphuric Ac.

Potassium Salts Potassium Chloride

Potassium Sulphate + Sulphuric Ac.

N source

P source

K source

NPK fertilizer

Natural Gas Air

Water Ammonia

Nitric Acid Ammonium Nitrates

Ammonium Sulphate

Urea

+ O2

+ CO2

+ Ammonia

+ Sulphuric Ac.

Which trends in the fertilizers world are related to fertilizers and farm intensification?

Fertilizers

To improve the analytical methods and the strengthening of the interpretation in order to improve the diagnosis and fertilizer recommendation To improve the management of fertilizers and crops Design of new fertilizer products that enhance nutrient use efficiency To find new Nutrient sources in Europe, with high quality and high nutrient available content

Trends in the fertilizer world

To find new Nutrient sources in Europe, with high quality and high nutrient available content

Trends in the fertilizer world

Nutrient recycle >>> Close the loop

N, P, K

S, Fe, Mg, Zn, …

www.biconsortium.eu

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- Nutrient recovery from biobased Waste for Fertiliser production

Nutrient recovery

This project has received funding from the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 668128

The objective

NEWFERT project tackles the design and development of different

enabling technologies to allow the re-use and valorisation from

biowaste making them suitable as secondary raw material in the

fertilizer industry: a new brand of cost-effective, eco-friendly and

healthy advanced fertilisers. Furthermore, NEWFERT targets highly

plant available combination of specific organic and mineral components

and sets up ranges of their concentration in NPK fertilisers.

The objective

Close the loop ensuring high nutrient concentration safety stability availability economic viability

Partners

2015-2018

Methodology The project starts working with data collection, characterisation and analysis of biobased residues. Two main waste ways for nutrients recovery: 1. Design new process to recover nutrients from solid biowaste (sewage,

manure and household waste, etc.) modifying existing industrial processes, development of new chemical nutrients extraction technologies and scale-up of the integrated system.

2. Involving different technologies of nutrients recovery from liquid biowaste. • Chemical acidification, separation, struvite crystallisation and

nitrogen recovery as ammonium sulphate. • Bioelectrochemical system. This technology based on Microbial

Electrolysis Cells.

The fertilisers obtained with these biowastes will be validated in an agronomic demonstrative environment.

Javier Brañas jbl@fertiberia.es Antonio Morán amorp@unileon.es

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NewFert. Nutrient recovery from biobased waste for

fertiliser production

(H2020-BBI-PPP-2014-1)