Centralized Strategies for Decentralized Nitrogen Recovery Enhance Economic Sustainability

Strategic Insights -

Research conducted by the Department of Green Chemistry and Technology at Ghent University has explored the potential for centralized nitrogen recovery to align with uniform fertilizer production and support the European Union's Farm-to-Fork strategy. The study employs a mixed integer linear programming model to optimize centralized processing, incorporating pretreatment and transport hubs, and monitoring chemical changes. The results demonstrate the economic feasibility of centralized nitrogen processing, highlighting cost reductions and the potential for increased revenue through full nitrogen recovery in manure's liquid fraction.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study aims to align decentralized nitrogen recovery with centralized, uniform fertilizer production to enhance economic sustainability and support the European Union's Farm-to-Fork strategy.
  • The research employed a mixed integer linear programming model to optimize centralized processing, incorporating pretreatment and transport hubs, and monitoring chemical changes.
  • The study highlights cost reductions, with transport costs halved and pretreatment costs reduced by 43%.
  • Exploiting full nitrogen recovery in manure's liquid fraction increases revenue fivefold, with operational costs rising only threefold, boosting net profit from €0.6M to €5.1M.
  • The research provides a scalable framework for improving nutrient circularity across different EU regions and meeting environmental targets.
  • The study was conducted by Ruben Vingerhoets and additional authors Marc Spiller, Siegfried E. Vlaeminck, Jeroen Buysse, and Erik Meers.
  • The research has been peer-reviewed and published in the Journal of Environmental Management.

Statistics:

  • The European Union aims to reduce nutrient emissions by 50% and fertilizer use by 20% to support the Farm-to-Fork strategy.
  • The study found that centralized nitrogen processing can reduce transport costs by 50% and pretreatment costs by 43%.
  • The exploitation of full nitrogen recovery in manure's liquid fraction can increase revenue fivefold, from €0.6M to €5.1M.
  • The net profit from nitrogen recovery increases from €0.6M to €5.1M, with operational costs rising only threefold.

Sources:

  • VerticalNews
  • Ecology, Environment & Conservation
  • Journal of Environmental Management (Elsevier)
  • Ghent University, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology
  • RE-SOURCE - Laboratory for Biobased Resource Recovery (Ghent University)
  • Ruben Vingerhoets, Marc Spiller, Siegfried E. Vlaeminck, Jeroen Buysse, and Erik Meers (authors)
  • Academic Press Ltd- Elsevier Science Ltd (Publisher)
  • Research article: Centralized strategies for decentralized nitrogen recovery: A model for sustainable fertilizer supply chains. Journal of Environmental Management, 2025;394:127371.