ISCF WAVE 1 AGRI TECH: Formulating novel fertilisers and land conditioners from bioenergy wastes

Lead Research Organisation: Lancaster University
Department Name: Lancaster Environment Centre

Abstract

In the face of finite sources of conventional phosphorus, and highly energy-intensive and price-sensitive nitrogen, agriculture is challenged to maintain or increase food production and simultaneously reduce its carbon impact. Fertiliser prices are strongly influenced by the crude oil price, reflecting the energy intensity of the manufacturing process. Finite nutrient sources are being depleted, whilst nutrients are lost from the land through crop harvest. It is therefore necessary to identify alternative sources of nutrients which can be safely applied to crops to sustain food production which can be produced with lower carbon impacts, and less environmental damage.

The proliferation of the renewable energy sector, as a means of reducing carbon emissions, has resulted in the growth of biomass to energy schemes. Agricultural land is the "expected" sink for digestate in the UK according to government policy since these waste sources are nutrient-rich. However, a number of limitations restrict the use digestate: highly variable composition (both spatially and temporally); undesirable compounds and contaminants presence (excessive metals; plastics residues); lower nutrient content than in manufactured fertilisers (higher volumes applied); logistical constraints (spatial dispersion from source); temporal constraints (application limited to certain periods, thus need for interim storage); uncertainties of crop responses. These undesirable factors have resulted in it being a disposal cost to the AD operator (average £3.73/t in 2013). Ash is similarly plagued by inconsistent composition and other undesirable characteristics and so significant quantities are being disposed of in landfill. For both digestate and ash, their disposal means that nutrients are lost from the cycle, incurring high costs to the renewable energy industry. These limitations present a clear need for development of an alternative product or process which can present an attractive solution to both the bio-energy and agricultural sectors alike.

The overarching objective is to develop commercially viable, high quality, consistent, sustainable fertilisers from bioenergy residues. Four main considerations are central to understanding the behaviour of the feedstocks in making a product: nutrient retention, form, and stability of the nutrient during processing; and whether the nutrient will be supplemented by other sources to meet a specification. Considering the aforementioned statements, the overall aim will be achieved through the following:

(i) Physico-chemical characterisation of individual waste streams (ash and digestate) and putative fertiliser products, including the identification of other suitable wastes
(ii) Assessment of the effects of reaction conditions on nutrient availability and potentially toxic elements presence on the fertiliser product, especially to understand in detail nitrogen retention, Phosphorus speciation and availability and long term stability controlling factors.
(iii) Quantification of the impact of ash and digestate mixtures on plant growth and comparison against traditional inorganic fertilisers.
(iv) Identification of legislative requirements and commercial considerations of the putative fertiliser products for use in agriculture as factual alternatives to conventional fertiliser applications

Extensive testing on selected treatments and reaction conditions in the laboratory and plant growth in glasshouse trials will represent and step towards the applicability, commercialisation and viability of the formulated product in an agricultural setting. Benefits of such scenario are reduction in the dependence on phosphorus and nitrogen finite fertiliser resources, contribution to food security and compliance with waste hierarchy and resource recovery.

Technical Summary

This project seeks to formulate complete, (N:P:K) balanced, agricultural fertilisers by combining and processing bio-energy wastes; anaerobic digestate, and ash from thermal conversion of woody biomass. The project will focus on developing and testing products derived from these waste streams that will have an exact specification that offers superior performance to conventional manufactured fertiliser products. Sourcing nutrients from waste materials presents a more environmentally and geo- politically sustainable approach to conventional fertilisers sourced from finite sources of phosphorus, and highly energy-intensive and price-sensitive nitrogen. With primary productivity expected to increase up to 10% through application of these products, this project presents a considerable opportunity to enhance food security and human nutrition globally, whilst presenting a significant commercial opportunity for SEE as well as UK based bio-energy and agricultural supply chains."

Planned Impact

Additional benefits to be derived from Innovate UK's funding will be job creation and enhanced UK earnings, particularly as the project is SME led and it will exploit a UK innovation and place it solidly as a UK technology. The technology will make the UK a leader in this field and it will create an opportunity for it to take advantage of the market opportunities expected in a rapidly developing sector. It would be unfortunate if this innovation were developed elsewhere. Ultimately, funding a project with these characteristics matches the remit of Innovate UK. As an SME the company is not in a position to support this research, and without financial support from Innovate UK it is not likely that the technology will be exploited for some years and until the current business has developed to the point where it could justify financing the whole of this work. The company's experience in protecting IP within earlier projects also shows the criticality of being able to sufficiently resource the R&D required and generate a new patent. With financial support from Innovate UK and by sharing the risks and project costs, it is expected that the team will be able to complete this work, which has the potential to create over £10m revenue within 5 years and increase staff recruited by more than 20 people. It is estimated that the technology will be worth £220m total in 10 years post launch. Innovate UK's support will also enable early technical understanding to be achieved, providing valuable input to the structuring of a patent. The work will be carried out by UK based staff, and it is its intention to use UK based sub-contractors. As a result, Innovate UK's funding will also protect jobs in the UK

This concept technology addresses a major challenge faced by UK & EU biomass energy operators, namely solid waste, for farmers it provides an improved quality alternative fertiliser, and for all parties it will be more cost effective. There is a significant global commercial opportunity for developing a formulated fertiliser from digestate, ash and other bioenergy wastes, if the team can verify its cost effectiveness and efficiency. Without Innovate UK's support then these expected benefits will not be realised for several years, if at all.
 
Description This project sought to formulate complete, (N:P:K) balanced, sustainable, agricultural fertilisers by combining and processing bio-energy wastes; anaerobic digestate, and ash from thermal conversion of woody biomass. The technical challenge of this project focus on developing and testing products derived from these waste streams that have an exact specification and offer superior performance to conventional manufactured fertiliser products.

Through the execution of feedstock screening studies, formulation tests and glasshouse efficacy trials, this project sought to generate both product specification and performance data that can be presented to fertiliser manufacturers, suppliers and end-users. Consideration was also given to formulation methods for the products with a view to protecting both the fertiliser technology and its process of manufacture. The main challenges in this project were twofold; enhancing the economic viability of the bio-energy industry through the valorisation of process by-products (that pose a disposal cost to plant operators) and providing a superior fertiliser product that is resilient to global oil price volatility. Sourcing nutrients from waste materials presents a more environmentally and geo-politically sustainable approach to conventional fertilisers sourced from finite sources of phosphorus, and highly energy-intensive and price-sensitive nitrogen. With primary productivity expected to increase up to 10% through application of these products, this project presents a considerable opportunity to enhance food security and human nutrition globally, whilst presenting a significant commercial opportunity for Stopford as well as UK based bio-energy and agricultural supply chains.

During this project the team was able to demonstrate that the manufacturing process resulted in the stabilisation of otherwise volatile nutrients. Furthermore, the trial of the preferred product formulation demonstrated that it performed as well as a standard fertiliser with no adverse effects on plant health. Perhaps the most significant outcome of the project was the production of a robust commercial assessment that has identified new, potentially more lucrative, agricultural markets.
Exploitation Route Seeking further industry funding to construct a pilot facility to produce fertiliser products for use in agriculture and horticulture.
Sectors Agriculture

Food and Drink

Chemicals

Energy

Environment

 
Description RRfW 
Organisation Aqua Enviro
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Initially working with Stopford Projects to draft a catalyst proposal for the initial RRfW call from NERC. Following on from this funding, two workshops were hosted at Lancaster University to which a number of researchers and companies were invited to attend to discuss the area of using waste products from the biomass energy production sector as soil amendments in agriculture. From these workshops, I was able to pull together a team of academics and companies in support of a second much larger research proposal which was submitted to NERC and subsequently funded.
Collaborator Contribution Active participation at the workshops mentioned above Contribution to the formulation of a research proposal which was submitted to NERC under the RRfW call and subsequently funded.
Impact Paper accepted for publication: Matthew J. Riding, Ben Herbert, Lois Ricketts, Ian Dodd, Nick Ostle, Kirk T. Semple. Harmonising conflicts between science, regulation, perception and environmental impact: the case of soil conditioners from bioenergy. Environment International. Accepted. Funded grant proposal as a result of this project: Semple, K.T. et al. NERC/DEFRA (2015-18). Developing a suite of novel land conditioners and plant fertilisers from waste streams of biomass energy generation, £856,484.
Start Year 2013
 
Description RRfW 
Organisation James Hutton Institute
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Initially working with Stopford Projects to draft a catalyst proposal for the initial RRfW call from NERC. Following on from this funding, two workshops were hosted at Lancaster University to which a number of researchers and companies were invited to attend to discuss the area of using waste products from the biomass energy production sector as soil amendments in agriculture. From these workshops, I was able to pull together a team of academics and companies in support of a second much larger research proposal which was submitted to NERC and subsequently funded.
Collaborator Contribution Active participation at the workshops mentioned above Contribution to the formulation of a research proposal which was submitted to NERC under the RRfW call and subsequently funded.
Impact Paper accepted for publication: Matthew J. Riding, Ben Herbert, Lois Ricketts, Ian Dodd, Nick Ostle, Kirk T. Semple. Harmonising conflicts between science, regulation, perception and environmental impact: the case of soil conditioners from bioenergy. Environment International. Accepted. Funded grant proposal as a result of this project: Semple, K.T. et al. NERC/DEFRA (2015-18). Developing a suite of novel land conditioners and plant fertilisers from waste streams of biomass energy generation, £856,484.
Start Year 2013
 
Description RRfW 
Organisation Stopford Projects
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Initially working with Stopford Projects to draft a catalyst proposal for the initial RRfW call from NERC. Following on from this funding, two workshops were hosted at Lancaster University to which a number of researchers and companies were invited to attend to discuss the area of using waste products from the biomass energy production sector as soil amendments in agriculture. From these workshops, I was able to pull together a team of academics and companies in support of a second much larger research proposal which was submitted to NERC and subsequently funded.
Collaborator Contribution Active participation at the workshops mentioned above Contribution to the formulation of a research proposal which was submitted to NERC under the RRfW call and subsequently funded.
Impact Paper accepted for publication: Matthew J. Riding, Ben Herbert, Lois Ricketts, Ian Dodd, Nick Ostle, Kirk T. Semple. Harmonising conflicts between science, regulation, perception and environmental impact: the case of soil conditioners from bioenergy. Environment International. Accepted. Funded grant proposal as a result of this project: Semple, K.T. et al. NERC/DEFRA (2015-18). Developing a suite of novel land conditioners and plant fertilisers from waste streams of biomass energy generation, £856,484.
Start Year 2013
 
Description Stopford Energy and Environment 
Organisation Stopford Projects
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Academic research expertise and facilities
Collaborator Contribution Knowledge of the market underpinning the project - Resource Recovery from Waste
Impact None yet
Start Year 2013
 
Description British Soil Science Society (BSSS) 2019 annual conference. 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Dr. Alfonso Jose Lag Brotons attended the British Soil Science Society (BSSS) 2019 annual conference. He presented the findings of the AVAnD project and introduced the RECIRCULATE project to the audience (mainly members of the Soil Science Society).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Centre for Global Eco-Innovation: Eco-I conference - Innovation for Clean and Sustainable Growth (19th-20th September 2019) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Eco-I 2019 brings together academia, industry, and policy to share how recent research advances are driving eco-innovation across six key global challenges: energy, waste, food water, resource efficiency, and natural capital. Eco-Innovation is the development of new products, processes, and services which delivers positive environmental impact. It is a key mechanism for delivering changes required to respond to climate change and will support the global need to live within the limits of the planet. It has the power to decouple global economic growth from resource use and is fully consistent with delivering the UK Clean Growth Strategy.

African colleagues from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Malawi involved in this NERC-funded IOF project were invited to attend and present at this conference. It also gave them an insight into how Lancaster is working with the private sector and policy makers through eco-innovation, particularly in the waste-sustainable energy-food security nexus. Beyond supporting the aims of this project, this project and associated workshops have stimulated discussions to explore funding through which we can continue to collaborate. One success is the funded ACTUATE project (EP/T015608/1), with three other project proposals currently under consideration.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL http://www.globalecoinnovation.org/ecoi2019conference/
 
Description Development of the Resources and Waste strategy 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Ongoing interaction with Defra in the research and development of the Resources and Waste strategy. Part of this engagement work is funded by the Faculty Impact grant awarded by LU to Kirk Semple. Interactions include contributions to three meetings with Defra on metrics, evidence and evaluation for the 'Resources and Waste' strategy.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description RESOURCE RECOVERY FROM WASTE ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2019 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact The team attended the final Resource Recovery from Waste Conference (2019) entitled 'Resource Recovery for a Clean, Low-Carbon and Resource Efficient Economy', which was held on the 16th January 2019, One Great George Street, London. The conference brought together five years of research to highlight the relevance of resource recovery for a clean, low-carbon and resource efficient economy. The meeting was opened by Beth House, NERC, who introduced the thinking behind the RRfW programme, aiming for a "paradigm shift" to progress the transition to a circular economy by moving away from a purely economic focus, to include generating environmental and social value. The conference was an excellent knowledge exchange and networking event, bringing together researchers from the Resource Recovery from Waste projects and from elsewhere in the UK, policy makers and companies.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019