Dive Brief:

• Scientists from Lancaster University are researching the production of sustainable, environmentally-friendly fertilizers made from renewable energy waste.
• The project uses a mixture of digestates created from anaerobic digestion and ash from burned biomass. The mixture of these substances can be used as an alternative to current crop fertilizers.
• The digestate-ash fertilizer is cost effective and has the potential to generate additional income for biomass and anaerobic digestion operations. It could also benefit the environment through the reduced use of fossil fuels.

Dive Insight:

Head researcher Professor Kirk Semple said that the goal of the research is to alter the bi-products from anaerobic digestion and biomass energy plants to create a new, safe, and sustainable source of nutrients for agriculture.

Previous research showed that a combination of biomass-ash and digestate can be helpful as a nutrient source for crops in low-nutrient environments. Ash has been found to be high in micro- and macro-nutrients, while anaerobic digestate is a rich source of trace metals and nitrogen.