P-02

Bioenergy and the Bio-Based Economy are major research topics of the research chair Sustainable Energy Systems. For instance, the production of Green Gas through anaerobic digestion of manure is of great importance to the agricultural sector in the Dutch/German EUREGIO. However, this sustainable technology is challenged by the sales costs of the side product digestate that contains valuable nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK). The objective is to reclaim differentiated and concentrated NPK from the digestate after efficient and high yield biogas production.

The project will deliver economic feasible technologies (Process Flow and Piping & Instrumentation Diagrams, basic engineering) for reclaiming the nutrients NPK from digestate of cattle manure as well as municipal waste. To that end, the project considers the following research questions:

* How to achieve optimal separation of digestate into a solid fraction containing phosphate bound to undissolved matter from a liquid fraction that consists of nitrogen (as ammonium) and potassium with <5% undissolved matter;

* How to achieve a solid fraction containing >80% dry matter to maximize phosphorous concentration by combining composting and drying technologies;

* How to set up a stripper/condensor for ammonium of the liquid fraction to produce ammonium bicarbonate;

* What membrane technologies will produce a potassium concentrate from an ammonium-depleted liquid fraction;

During the Saxion Research Conference the intended approach to the above research questions will be discussed with fellow researchers.