Grant: Strategic Projects - Group

Increases in population and per capita consumption of energy and animal products will exacerbate nutrient losses and resource depletion, pollution levels and land degradation, further threatening the quality of our water, air and soils, affecting climate and biodiversity. A new strategic research effort is needed to reduce nutrient losses and improve nutrient use efficiency across all sectors, thereby creating the foundation for a green and circular economy that produces more food and energy while reducing environmental pollution. This project aims to provide sustainable strategies for nutrient and energy recovery from bio-waste with economic valorization of the recovered nutrient products as green substitutes for chemical fossil-based fertilizers in food production. To this end, three complementary research work packages (WP) will be executed, thereby covering holistic nutrient valorization chains: 1) Bio-based fertilizer production, 2) Process modelling for optimization, and 3) End-product formulation and evaluation. In WP1, pilot units and treatment trains of the most established nutrient recovery technologies will be implemented in order to produce raw fertilizer products from (digested) bio-waste. In WP2, new process models will be developed for nutrient recovery systems, in particular for membrane filtration. In view of optimization, predictive models will be developed for product quality characteristics as purity, particle size, fertilizer release rates. Adapted model calibration and validation methods will be devised and tested. Finally, in WP3, the quality of the produced fertilizers will be evaluated and upgraded to compositions acceptable for agricultural use according to current regulation. Nutrient use efficiencies and environmental impact of the formulated end-products will be assessed in agricultural field trials. As such, the proposed project further develops the concepts of maximally closing nutrient cycles (= waste to feed). This will open up new opportunities for sustainable and more bio-based economic growth and thus create a win-win-win situation for the environment, the society and the economy in Canada, and beyond.