CLEANWASTE - Clean and environmentally friendly animal waste technologies or fertilizer and energy production

The stringent European and Danish environmental regulations represent a significant challenge for the livestock industry and demand the development of cost-effective mitigation technologies. The new regulations will promote the development of large animal production units with a capacity to manage animal manure with increasingly complex technologies. The objective of this research alliance is to develop such novel, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly technologies for the Danish and global market. The aim is to simultaneously recover plant nutrients, to produce organic soil amendments, energy and reusable water and to reduce losses of plant nutrients and greenhouse gases to the environment. Four research components (RCs) will focus on the following treatment technologies: solid-liquid separation technologies, liquid refining, Energy from thermal gasification of the solid fraction, solid fractionation and residue upgrading. The fifth RC will focus on environmental modelling and system analysis within the framework of a whole-chain approach to manure management. The system analysis will ensure that the environmental benefits of the introduction of a new technology into one component of the manure management system are assessed both at the point of introduction and downstream in the manure management chain. The sixth RC will use life-cycle analysis to assess the wider environmental implications of the use of the manure management systems. The system analysis and life cycle assessment will be developed iteratively with the technology components, thereby using the knowledge gained to guide modifications of the technologies to increase efficiency, and reduce costs and environmental impacts