RnD4Profit Waste to Revenue: Novel Fertilisers and Feeds

Agricultural industries produce large volumes of waste containing valuable nutrients, carbon and water. Unfortunately, this waste does not have the right nutrient balance to be directly used as a crop fertiliser as it is typically diluted with moisture, making transportation and reuse off-farm impractical and unfeasible. Further, food crops do not use the nitrogen in these fertilisers very efficiently, and there are significant losses in the process of converting food protein into meat protein.

These are widely recognised issues, with the majority of carbon, and almost all nitrogen and phosphorus, lost in emissions or waste streams. This project addressed these issues by converting agricultural waste and wastewater into novel feeds and fertilisers in order to reduce farming inputs and decrease costs of primary production.

Value for producers

• Converting agricultural waste and wastewater into novel feeds and fertilisers can reduce farming inputs and decrease costs of primary production.
• Saves on removal costs of waste products and reduces hazard.
• Offers new commercial and revenue opportunities.

Recommendations

• Treatment of wastewaters from agricultural industries with the Purple Phototrophic Bacteria (PPB) Continuous Wastewater Treatment System and photobioreactor technology has shown to be feasible.
• A number of novel fertiliser products have been developed and tested, with three of them, specifically Black Soldier Fly (BSF) frass, microalgae and advanced compost, performing as well as synthetic fertiliser in pot trials.