Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGBLarge quantities of organic waste are generated in the agricultural production of food or feed for livestock. These can be used sensibly as biomass for bioenergy production, but also for the recovery of important nutrients. The Fraunhofer IGB is developing the corresponding biotechnological processes.
Nutrient management.
Nutrients from food and animal feed industry
Processing of organic residues
Enzymatical and chemcial recovery of phosphorus
The Fraunhofer IGB is developing biocatalytic processes for the mineralization of organic phosphates contained in agricultural residues. In this way, they can be recovered as high-quality fertilizer.
Stabilization trough drying, torrefaction or carbonization
In the production, preparation and processing of solids, drying is usually an essential process step. Drying processes are used, for example, to stabilize the shape of granulates, pellets or powders.
Torrefaction aims to increase the mass-related energy density and thus the calorific value of the raw material. It also increases the transport and storage capability of the raw material.
In hydrothermal carbonisation, the biomass from agricultural waste is converted into fuels and thus made usable for bioenergy production independent of location.
Recovery of nutrients from process water
Phosphorus recovery
Phosphorus is a nutrient that is highly sought after as a fertilizer in agriculture. On the basis of the processes developed at the Fraunhofer IGB, phosphorus can be recovered from agricultural residues and reused as fertilizer.
Nitrogen recovery
Like phosphorus, nitrogen is a nutrient that can be recovered from agricultural waste and used as fertiliser.