EU Project FERTIMANURE

From Farm to Market: Converting Animal Manure into Fertilising Products

February 17, 2020

More than 90 % of the manure produced by livestock farms in the EU is used for land fertilisation. However, this process is inefficient. The EU-funded FERTIMANURE project intends to develop, test and estimate advanced nutrient management strategies to produce competitive fertilisers that contribute to good yield. Their goal is to recycle valuable nutrients from livestock manure and produce bio-based fertilisers. FERTIMANURE will be deployed in five of the EU’s biggest livestock production countries, namely Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. Outcomes should help promote this circular economy model for the EU agriculture sector.

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The main focus of the project is to recycle nutrients from livestock manure and use them to produce biobased fertilizers. The aim is to develop a waste-free manure management system for the EU livestock sector and exploit the large amounts of nutrient-rich residual biomass from manure.

Fraunhofer UMSICHT is responsible for the implementation of the German pilot project for nutrient recovery from cattle manure. The pilot project will combine and further develop a number of technologies from the pre-treatment of the manure to thermo-chemical conversion and final fertilizer production. The core of the conversion process is the thermo-catalytic reforming (TCR) technology developed at the Fraunhofer UMSICHT in Sulzbach-Rosenberg.

This innovative process chain will maximize nitrogen recovery and phosphorus utilization from cattle manure and convert it into the raw material fertilizer ammonium phosphate. In addition, phosphorus-rich biochar will be produced. The fertilization performance of the pilot products will be tested in the greenhouse facilities of Fraunhofer UMSICHT. To ensure that the project results have the greatest possible impact, all activities are accompanied by a detailed nutrient balance of the process chain, a sustainability assessment as a utilization strategy and joint business development in the FERTIMANURE consortium.

FERTIMANURE is mainly carried out in five of the largest animal production countries in the EU, namely Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. Pilot plants are being built there.

A total of 20 project partners from 7 EU countries and Argentina are working together over a period of 48 months. The results should help to promote a closed-loop economic model for the EU agricultural sector and reduce the EU's dependence on limited resources such as rock phosphate.

Last modified: February 17, 2020

Project updates

FERTIMANURE Project Concludes with Groundbreaking Achievements in Sustainable Agriculture.

Update 12/2024

The EU-co-funded FERTIMANURE project has successfully wrapped up its four-year journey, revolutionising the way we approach animal manure management and fertiliser production. This innovative initiative has paved the way for a more sustainable and circular agricultural economy in Europe.

Key Achievements

Nutrient Recovery Technologies: FERTIMANURE has developed and validated cutting-edge technologies for efficient nutrient recovery from animal manure, transforming waste into valuable resources.
Bio-Based Fertilisers: The project has successfully produced over 30 high-quality, bio-based fertilisers that can compete effectively in the European fertiliser market.
On-Farm Pilots: Five innovative on-farm pilot plants were established across major livestock-producing countries, demonstrating the practical application of these new technologies.
Environmental Impact: FERTIMANURE's solutions have shown significant potential in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and minimising nutrient leaching, contributing to cleaner air and water.
Economic Benefits: The project has created new business opportunities for farmers and rural communities, promoting a circular economy model in the agricultural sector.

Looking Ahead

The success of FERTIMANURE opens up exciting possibilities for the future of European agriculture.
By turning animal manure from a waste problem into a valuable resource, we are not only addressing environmental concerns but also enhancing farm profitability and rural development.
»FERTIMANURE has demonstrated that with innovation and collaboration, we can transform challenges into opportunities,« said Dr. Laia LLENAS, coordinator of the FERTIMANURE project. »Our achievements pave the way for a more sustainable and resilient agricultural sector in Europe.«

The project's outcomes are expected to have a lasting impact on EU policies related to agriculture, environment, and circular economy, fostering a more sustainable future for European farming.

For more information about FERTIMANURE and its groundbreaking results, please visit www.fertimanure.eu.

Recovery of ammonium phosphate and phosphorus-rich biochar as a product of the pyrolysis process

Update 02/2024

In the FERTIMANURE project, the process produces a gas from cattle manure for the extraction of ammonium phosphate, a phosphorus- and potassium-rich biochar and an oil from which energy sources (such as fuel) can be produced.

The pyrolysis-based technology used, with a downstream reforming step, produces high-quality carbonisates, often referred to as biochar or biochar. On the one hand, the reforming step increases the quality of the oil and gas, enabling the targeted recovery of ammonia from the gas. On the other hand, the biochar produced in this way has a particularly low pollutant content, all of which are below the limits of the European Biochar Certificate. In addition, the carbonisates obtained by the TCR process have low hydrogen to carbon and oxygen to carbon ratios. This is an indicator of the particularly high stability of the carbon contained in the biochar.

The Sulzbach-Rosenberg branch of the institute has various pyrolysis plants for the conversion of biomass from laboratory to industrial scale, for example with a throughput of 2, 10, 30 and 500 kg per hour. This means that both small and large quantities of feedstock can be processed in test campaigns and corresponding quantities of biochar can be produced. Two of the institute's own plants and the products obtained are shown below.

The project trial shows that the soil application of biochar delivers the same yield as full synthetic fertilization. The study also showed that the absorption of nitrogen and phosphorus from the biobased fertilizers is just as efficient as that from fully synthetic fertilization. A special feature of the bio-based product obtained in this way is the carbon it contains, which can actively contribute to improving the soil and at the same time create a carbon sink.

Scientist Dr. Sophie Schönfeld: »The use of biochar from residual materials is often the subject of controversial debate, as people do not want to introduce potentially hazardous substances into the fields. Through the intensive analysis of our products, we were able to prove that the process produces a high-quality biochar that complies with all limit values and also has fertilizing properties«.

Sustainable soil improvement with biochar

Fraunhofer UMSICHT also researched the use of biochar obtained from the TCR® process in field trials as part of the Interpyro project. In this project, the circular economy and sustainable value creation are combined with climate protection. The additional products created, such as gas and oil, can also be used here as a source of energy. Three biochar test fields were opened as part of the project, including a test area on Ginsterweg in Wolmirstedt. The 30x3 meter cultivation area was divided into nasturtium, parsley, lavender, geranium, currant bushes, apple trees, zucchinis and pumpkin plants. One area received TCR® biochar with cattle manure before planting, a second cattle manure alone, and the third remained untreated. A similar procedure was followed in Bernburg-Strenzfeld. After three months, differences became apparent: the loaded biochar improved the humus content by 7.4 percent, the water storage capacity by 6.1 percent and the nutrient storage capacity by 11 percent compared to the control area.

TCR® process sets the course for the production of bio-based fertilizers

The research results of the two projects clearly show that the use of the TCR® process for the production of bio-based fertilizers has great potential. Especially in regions with an overproduction of slurry and manure, the process can be used to use the nutrients nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus in a targeted and needs-based manner through the production of storable, bio-based fertilizers, thus keeping them in the nutrient cycle. The Interpyro project has shown that other residual materials can also be upgraded by processing them using the TCR process. In addition to generating energy, it was also possible to produce high-quality carbonisates/vegetable carbons. The use of these carbons in agriculture represents a promising approach to increasing the yield of agricultural production under drought stress conditions.

Video of the project

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Press Release FERTIMANURE