New report on RePeat technology for phosphorus recovery from digestate

SYSTEMIC project partners Wageningen University & Research, Groot Zevert Vergisting and Nijhuis Industries developed a sustainable technological solution to separate solid fraction from digestated manure in order to produce mineral phosphorus (P) fertiliser and organic soil improver.

A new report on the latest laboratory and pilot tests of the RePeat technology for P recovery from digestate reveals that:

  • Struvite has a tendency to form crystals, which improves de-waterability. Struvite is therefore preferred over calcium-phosphate which forms a fine sludge.
  • The organic soil improver contains for 88% of organic matter and contains about 1-2 g P/kg. The P/OM ratio is favourable and enables farmers to apply a large amount of organic matter on their field within the P application standards.
  • A business case is included, which demonstrates that the reduced costs for manure transport offset the costs for the investment and chemical consumption.

The results contained in the report formed the basis for the engineering of the full-scale demo plant which is now being built at Groot Zevert Vergisting, the Netherlands.