However, the full potential of nutrient recovery and reuse from our biowastes will not be recognised until the products can compete on a level playing field with other (synthetic) fertilising products. Working with organic waste materials is complex and requires expensive technologies and like in many industries in our linear economy, reusing materials often comes at a higher cost than developing products from virgin materials. The technology to recover nutrients from biowaste is well developed and applicable at the industrial scale, as shown by the SYSTEMIC project. But greater incentives are needed to stimulate the market for recovered nutrients in order to scale up the circular economy to enable the objectives of the Green Deal to be met.

The aim of this paper is therefore to inform policy makers regarding both the policy barriers that need to be overcome, and possible policy opportunities which can be developed within the Fit for 55 framework and beyond.

Read the policy note here.

The post SYSTEMIC releases final policy note appeared first on Systemic.

As part of the SYSTEMIC project in Italy, the University of Milan and the company Acqua & Sole are testing the use of digestate as a fertilizer on maize crops. The trial uses digestate and ammonium sulphate produced by the anaerobic digestion plant owned by Acqua & Sole, in comparison with parallel tests carried out using urea or no fertilization.

At the moment, the third year of experimentation is ongoing. The results obtained for the first two years were generally very positive. Following fertilization with digestate and ammonium sulphate, the main chemical characteristics of the soil (such as pH, CEC, available phosphorus, organic carbon, and C/N ratio) remained unchanged compared to the initial conditions. More in-depth investigations are planned for the end of the third year, such as fractionations of carbon and phosphorus, NMR and quantification of the concentrations of organic pollutants, which will provide important information on the effect of digestate use on the soil.

One of the most important parts of the work is focused on the risks of environmental impact, especially the risk of nitrate leaching that can pollute groundwater, the effect on soil microbial communities, and the emission of ammonia and greenhouse gases (N2O, CO2 and NH4) after fertilization. As regards the nitrate leaching, measurements of the nitrate concentration in the soil were carried out at a depth of one meter below the experimental fields for the entire duration of the agronomic seasons. The concentrations detected were always in line with those measured at the same depth in uncultivated soils, demonstrating that the use of digestate, within the limits established by law, does not cause a release of nitrates in such amounts as to reach the groundwater. Even the N-cycle related microbial populations of the soil, quantified for the entire duration of the agronomic seasons, remained always in line with those of soils fertilized with urea. This shows that the use of digestate and ammonium sulphate did not have a negative effect on the biotic component of the soil. Furthermore, as regards the emission of both ammonia and greenhouse gases, the data obtained during three years of experimentation indicate that on average the emissions measured following the use of digestate were perfectly comparable to those measured following use of urea (dosed in the same amounts). Also the odour emissions produced by fertilization with digestate through injection into the soil were comparable with those produced using urea.

Finally, the agronomic performances obtained with the use of digestate were measured by quantifying the grain produced. Also in this case the productions obtained from maize fertilized with digestate and ammonium sulphate were perfectly comparable with those obtained using urea in the same amounts.

In conclusion, the experimentation in Italy is demonstrating that the products of anaerobic digestion can totally replace mineral N fertilizers, without risk of degradation for the soil and the environment, and without decreasing production.

The post Testing digestate as a fertilizer on maize crops appeared first on Systemic.

Attend one of our presentations on https://t.co/wEYjO1Getv
for children: What is a biogas plant? & Do a Quiz on SYSTEMIC!
for citizens: What is a biogas plant? & living near a biogas plant
for stakeholders: Biogas plant business case evaluation with Key Performance Indicators pic.twitter.com/mc9iqm69nT

— H2020 SYSTEMIC (@systemic_eu) September 21, 2020

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Check out the SYSTEMIC booth at the R&I days: Science is wonderful! fair (22-24 Sept; register on https://t.co/9XrrRGEIYk)@EU_ecoinno @MarcoRanieri_EU @VesselaStoyano1 pic.twitter.com/Emg8IfqW1t

— H2020 SYSTEMIC (@systemic_eu) September 21, 2020

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The post Successful General Assembly! appeared first on Systemic.

The general demand for nutrients in different regions in Europe is mapped related to the most dominant crops cultivated. NRR derived products that best fit these demands combined with recommendations and application limits in these regions are suggested. Following this approach,  another chapter zooms in on the 10 Outreach Locations in SYSTEMIC.

By processing the digestate with different technologies, new end-products are obtained for which there is usually no market yet, usally because they are new on the market and unknown to the potential end users. To overcome this, the report gives an overview of the desired characteristics of these end products by end users (farmers and fertilizer industry). Tables with indicative values for volumes, contaminants, nutrient content and prices are presented to give the biogas plants a better idea on what their new products should look like. To get them started or to further improve the actual marketing (as fertilisers), some concrete tips and ticks are given.

The report further investigated the potential of some niche markets for recovered nutrients and organic matter from digestate to encourage biogas plant owners to look beyond the market of fertilisers if their products comply with certain specific characteristics.

A few success stories from biogas plants that have achieved synergies with others or created their own sustainable, circular marketing route closes this complete report which we expect will be of interest to many!

The post Market research report on products recovered from digestate in Europe appeared first on Systemic.

Apart from the apparent use of EBITA- (earnings before interest, tax and amortisation) and EBIT- (earnings before interest and tax) margins measuring the overall profitability of a business, three additional specific KPIs have been derived from the main material and energy flows of the anaerobic digestion plants providing indicators for:

• Overall substrate financial productivity i.e. total revenues per ton of substrate processed in EUR/t.
• Energy related financial productivity measuring the energy related financial productivity of biogas, i.e. the net revenues from energy supplies per m³ of biogas in EUR/m³.
• Digestate related financial productivity measuring the digestate related financial productivity of substrates, i.e. net costs (revenues) of products (digestate, recycled products) per ton of feedstock processed in EUR/t.

The financial performance of SYSTEMIC partner plants was analysed by application of the five KPIs.

Every plant is compared to the median of all seven SYSTEMIC partner plants for every indicator, plainly exhibiting the differences in terms of approaches and performances. KPIs have proven to be useful highlighting the areas of activity that contribute to the profitability and those that do not. Furthermore, KPIs can help the management identify the areas that should be further assessed for improvement options. However, SYSTEMIC business cases can already be used as a role model for anaerobic digestion plants due to mostly using organic waste based feedstock and having implemented the equipment for effective product recycling. NRR systems are in all cases contributing to the profitability, clearly exhibited by the two cases that have operated digesters with conventional digestate handling until recently.

For further information :

• Read the full report
• Read the updated factsheets of the demonstration plants

The post Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of plants completed appeared first on Systemic.

Register here

The first successful edition of ESNI provided a comprehensive overview on the opportunities and benefits of nutrient recycling to boost research, agriculture and sustainable development. The second edition reinforces this commitment.  Policy-makers, researchers, industry representatives and many other stakeholders will discuss how to raise awareness on the benefits of nutrient recycling and reuse (NRR). Parallel sessions will be dedicated to policy measures, innovative solutions and technological developments on nutrient recycling.

The event will take place at the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium (FEB) in Brussels.

Do not miss the opportunity to attend these events aimed to put nutrient recycling high on the EU circular economy agenda!

Details on the programs will come soon..

Poster session

A poster session will complement the ESNI Conference providing insights on the most relevant initiatives promoting nutrient recycling in Europe.

Check here and discover how to participate!

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New date

REGISTER HERE!

Due to the ongoing measures regarding COVID-19 Corona Virus, the date of the event has now been moved to 26th October.  You will therefore need to re-register.

This SYSTEMIC workshop will discuss ways in which European policy frameworks can better enable the financial viability of nutrient recovery from waste in Europe.

The European Union’s Communication on the Circular Economy has recognised Nutrient Recovery and Re-use (NRR) from waste as a crucial element in advancing the Circular Economy.

However, whilst great strides are being made in the development of technology to enable nutrients to be recovered at biogas plants, the financial viability of nutrient recovery remains a major stumbling block to its expansion.

The post New date! Register now: SYSTEMIC Workshop appeared first on Systemic.

The event will also give an overview of current developments and innovations in manure treatment technologies and explore various valorisation strategies for manure, such as energy production and nutrient recovery.

SYSTEMIC will hold a session on ‘Digestate valorisation across the language border in Belgium’ – in French and Dutch only (register here) – which will discuss:

• legislation, treatment, processing and application of digestate;
• relevant case studies;
• marketing and application of end products.

In addition, SYSTEMIC will be represented at the research parallel session and the round tables on ‘Nutrient recovery in wastewater treatment’ and the one dedicated to the SYSTEMIC outreach locations, all taking place on 28 November.

Finally, the conference site visits on 29 November will include SYSTEMIC outreach location Biogas Bree and associated plant Arbio bvba.

The post SYSTEMIC at ManuREsource appeared first on Systemic.