The use of renewable energies is vital to addressing critical global challenges such as climate change and global warming, within a context of energy scarcity and rising fossil fuel prices. One such renewable energy source is biogas, a gas produced from the biodegradation of a wide variety of organic waste, including sewage sludge, the organic fraction of municipal waste, and manure, among others. Biogas production through anaerobic digestion has experienced exponential growth in Europe in recent years, as it can be produced locally, allows for the treatment of organic waste, generates clean energy, and promotes sustainable development and climate action.
In this context, the FertiLab project (PLEC2022-009252), of which Facsa is a part, is being developed. It is funded by the European Union's Next Generation funds, within the framework of the Spanish Government's Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (Ministry of Science and Innovation). The main objective of this initiative is to give a second life to the byproduct resulting from one of the phases of water treatment, known as digestate, by converting it into three types of products of great interest to sustainable agriculture.
Products that support sustainable agriculture
During the three-year project (December 2022 – November 2025), FertiLab will work to transform wastewater sludge into three types of products of great interest to sustainable agriculture. First, it will produce fertilizers or mineral amendments enriched with nutrients present in the sludge. Second, it will produce biopesticides through solid-state fermentation of the sludge. And finally, it will produce biostimulants, also through solid-state fermentation of the sludge. The benefits of these products include improved plant growth, increased yields, and enhanced crop quality, among others.
With all this, the project aims to achieve an improvement in the sustainability of agriculture at the territorial level based on the principles of agroecology, since it proposes to change the current scenario of intensive agriculture for more local strategies, in which nutrient cycles are closed and organic amendments are used in place of chemical products with a high environmental impact, such as mineral fertilizers and chemical pesticides.
Furthermore, Fertilab includes the evaluation of the potential use and application of the bioproducts obtained, promoting the commercialization and market acceptance of new bio-based agricultural ingredients. In addition, the “Living Lab” concept will be implemented to address sustainable fertilization with the participation of various stakeholders. This will act as a catalyst for the implementation of an open platform where new agricultural proposals can be addressed from technical, environmental, and economic perspectives.
Consortium and budget
The project consortium, of which Facsa is a member, includes three universities, two research centers, and an industrial partner: the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), with its composting group (GICOM) leading the project; the Polytechnic University of Catalonia – BarcelonaTech (UPC); the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) of Elche; the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA); and the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) – Klima Aldaketa Ikergai. The project's eligible budget is €643,662.
