Evaluating the Struvite Recovered from Anaerobic Digestate in a Farm Bio-Refinery as a Slow-Release Fertiliser

Magdalena Szymańska, Tomasz Sosulski, Adriana Bożętka, Urszula Dawidowicz, Adam Wąs, Ewa Szara, Agata Malak-Rawlikowska, Piotr Sulewski, Gijs W. P. van Pruissen and René L. Cornelissen
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Magdalena Szymańska: Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Agriculture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences–SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-766 Warsaw, Poland
Tomasz Sosulski: Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Agriculture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences–SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-766 Warsaw, Poland
Adriana Bożętka: Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Agriculture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences–SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-766 Warsaw, Poland
Urszula Dawidowicz: Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Agriculture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences–SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-766 Warsaw, Poland
Adam Wąs: Institute of Economics and Finances, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Ewa Szara: Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Agriculture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences–SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-766 Warsaw, Poland
Agata Malak-Rawlikowska: Institute of Economics and Finances, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Piotr Sulewski: Institute of Economics and Finances, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Gijs W. P. van Pruissen: Cornelissen Consulting Services BV, Binnensingel 3, 7411 PL Deventer, The Netherlands
René L. Cornelissen: Cornelissen Consulting Services BV, Binnensingel 3, 7411 PL Deventer, The Netherlands

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 20, 1-15

Abstract: Biogas production in agricultural biogas plants generates digestate—liquid waste containing organic matter and mineral nutrients. Utilisation of the digestate on farm fields adjacent to the biogas plants is limited. Therefore, bio-refineries implement advanced forms of digestate processing, including precipitation of struvite (MgNH 4 PO 4 . 6H 2 O). Struvite can be transported over long distances and dosed precisely to meet the nutritional needs of the plants. Divergent opinions on the fertilising value of struvite and its function over time call for further research on its effects on crop yields in the first and subsequent years after application. This study investigates the effects of struvite (STR), struvite with ammonium sulphate (STR + N), and commercial ammonium phosphate (AP) on the yields, nutrient concentration in the crops, nutrient uptake by the crops, and soil N, P, and Mg content in the second growing period after the application of fertilisers to silty loam (SL) and loamy sand (LS) soils under grass cultivation. Struvite was recovered from the liquid fraction of digestate obtained from a bio-refinery on the De Marke farm (Netherlands). The soils investigated in the pot experiment originated from Obory (SL) and Skierniewice (LS) (Central Poland). The results obtained over the first growing period following fertilisation were published earlier. In our prior work, we showed that the majority of the struvite phosphorus remains in the soil. We hypothesised that, in the second year, the yield potential of the struvite might be higher than that of commercial P fertiliser. Currently, we have demonstrated that, in the second growing period following the application, struvite causes an increase in grass yield, nutrient uptake by the crops, and P and Mg content in the soil. On SL and LS soils, the yields of the four grass harvests from the STR and STR + N treatments were higher than those from AP by approximately 8% and 16.5%, respectively. Our results confirm that struvite is more effective as a fertiliser compared to commercial ammonium phosphate. Struvite can be, therefore, recommended for fertilising grasslands at higher doses once every two years.

Keywords: struvite; fertiliser value; biogas plant; farm bio-refinery; P and N recovery (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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