Result description
An integrated nutrient‑recovery system has been developed to enable efficient recovery of nitrogen and phosphorus from manure and anaerobic digestate. The system combines three complementary technological processes: manure acidification prior to solid–liquid separation, low‑temperature ammonium stripping, and struvite precipitation. Acidification with formic acid reduces ammonia volatilisation and increases the proportion of phosphorus in the liquid fraction prior subsequent recovery steps. Following separation, the liquid fraction can be treated by struvite precipitation in a continious prosess using fluidized bed reactor to recover phosphorus and nitrogen as struvite (MgNH₄PO₄·6H₂O) – a slow‑release fertiliser, or by ammonium stripping to recover nitrogen as concentrated ammonium salts analogous to synthetic mineral fertilisers. Moderate heating and reduced pressure enhance ammonium transfer efficiency. The integrated approach can result in near‑complete recovery of nitrogen and phosphorus from the liquid fraction potentially significantly reducing nutrient losses and emissions, supporting circular nutrient management and sustainable agriculture.
Addressing target audiences and expressing needs
- Grants and Subsidies
- Help in technical expertise
- Collaboration
We are looking for public and private funding to support futher development and market validation of integrated nutrient‑recovery technologies in organic waste rich areas. It can be done in collaboration with research and technology organisations, universities, and technology providers to further develop, validate and prepare circular nutrient‑recovery solutions adapted to concrete user case scenarios.
- Public or private funding institutions
- Research and Technology Organisations
- Academia/ Universities
R&D, Technology and Innovation aspects
The result is validated at pilot scale in relevant environments (TRL 7). The integrated nutrient‑recovery system has demonstrated technical performance but still at the pre‑commercial phase. Extra funding will support full‑scale demonstration, optimisation and validation.
The solution is based on modular processes that can be adapted to different scales and operational contexts. The solution can be used from farm level to biogas and wastewater facilities, though smaller applications would require scaling down of existing machinery.
The result uses technologies that can be applied in the same way at different sites, and supported by open‑science documentation.
The result can create value by improving nutrient recovery and reducing N and P losses, but long‑term sustainability depends on further scale‑up, cost optimisation and successful integration into existing manure and waste‑management systems.
- Norway
