Glatt as Partner in the
Collaborative Project “abonocare 3”

Technology chain for fermentation of organic residues with integrated nutrient fractionation

abonocare offers processes and technologies for the recovery of nitrogen by means of different and flexible separation and concentration processes from liquid and gaseous media of high-load fermentation and drying.

The project partners are working on the development of a highly efficient treatment system for the fermentation of organic residues with integrated nutrient fractionation that can be combined in modules according to customer requirements. The combinability concerns both the feedstock, e.g. biowaste (food waste, residues from food production, etc.), HTC wastewater or nutrient-rich poultry manure, as well as the degree of fractionation (degree of treatment) and the fractionation method of the resulting (fertilizer) products.

In doing so, the project pursues a hitherto unique approach by which, for the first time, stability of the biogas process at high nitrogen/nutrient loads is achieved and the subsequent fractionation is particularly efficient.

The basis for this is the two-stage, two-phase GICON biogas process with percolation for efficient and flexible biogas production. Stages for nutrient recovery are virtually integrated into this innovative process, which is suitable for the fermentation of very different input materials.

This results in products with high added value, such as ammonium sulfate fertilizer (ASL), special fertilizers, pure ammonium carbonate salts (AHC) without additives, or magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) without magnesium salts containing chlorine.

The production of such quality products is possible, among other things, with specially designed ceramic membrane contactors and filters that can remove ammonia or ammonium directly from the gas/vapor phase as well as the liquid phase, even under very harsh conditions. They ensure high quality and purity in the manufacture of these products.

Project goals:

• Processes and plants for the treatment of liquid organic residues with production of high-quality (fertilizer) products.
• High-value (fertilizer) products: ASL (25 – 40 %), adapted special N fertilizer solutions (N, N+S, NPK, NPK+S),
  crystalline AHC (food application), crystalline MAP fertilizers
• Research and development competence in the field of nutrient recovery