The institute of Sustainable Processes is taking part of the GREENFARM, a “proof of concept” project of the Ministry of Science and Innovation, whose main objective is to obtain fertilizers and pesticides from the treatment of livestock farm waste. It involves the researchers José María Fernández-Sevilla and Francisco Gabriel Acién, from the University of Almería (UAL), Silvia Bolado; Rubén Irusta Mata; Pedro García Encina; Marisol Vega and Elena M. Rojo, from the University of Valladolid (UVa) and members of the ISP.
This project aims to give a second life to the waste of pig farms, a growing sector in the European Union, which is the second world producer of pork, and that generates a large amount of waste. In this sense, GREENFARM uses a process that consists in the valorization of algal biomass obtained from livestock slurry to obtain fertilizers and pesticides useful in agriculture after the treatment process of livestock waste.
This system is a sustainable alternative, with less environmental impact and also economically more feasible. Previous results have demonstrated the viability of fertilizer production from algal biomass grown in slurry, reaching lower annual costs compared to a commercial fertilizer (reductions of40.5%, 22.6% and 43.3% respectively).
