FAQ

Despite animal rendering by-products (bone meal/bone grist, MBM, PAP) are sterile products at the point of production, same as for any protein content materials, there is a very high risk for cross and recontamination during the applications. As because animal rendering by-products are mammal protein based, the human and animal pathogens are prime risk potential. While rendered products leave the cooker negative of the bacteria, re-contamination can occur anywhere along the way to the utilisation point. Renderers take many precautions to prevent recontamination while the meal is in their possession but have no control over their product once it leaves a facility. Although, the usual treatment >133°C, 20 minutes, 3 bars thermal treatment, may be enough to sterilize the category 3 bone meal, after the material is leaving the factory the cross and recontamination is a risk. The EU bans the use of animal rendering by-products for livestock animals. Concerning utilisation of crude bone meal for direct fertilisation in-vivo open environment, there is a high risk of cross and recontamination of human and animal pathogens. Therefore, in the case of Phosphorus recovery from any bone products only the added value carbonization processing at material core temperature <850°C providing fully safe solution. Proper carbonisation of bones offering far better technical opportunity for product valorisation versus the highly risky use of the crude bone meal for any in vivo applications.

The Producer Responsibility Principle: Producers having full responsibility for animal by-product disease cross and recontamination cases (“manufacturers of products bear responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products throughout the products life-cycles, including upstream impacts inherent in the selection of materials for the products, impacts from manufacturers, production process itself, and downstream impacts form the use and disposal of the products.

No. The struvite and mineral phosphate products are chemically processed and not biofertilisers. The sewage waste water extracted struvite may contain pharma/illicit drug residuals and pathogenic contaminations, while gene fragments of the Covid-19 virus also found in wastewater entering a sewage works as well. The chemosynthetically processed mineral phosphate containing cadmium and uranium contaminations. In contrary, Bio-Phosphate products are pure and natural, chemically not treated, 100% safe and containing natural biomaterials only.

Yes, this is a high efficient macroporosus adsorbent for water treatment and other industrial applications as well.

Bio-Phosphate is a biofertiliser product that is the most market competitive priced (total cost/value) in the biofertiliser sector under any climatic and soil conditions on the targeted markets EU, USA, Australia and Japan.

Yes, the Bio-Phosphate product is the basic product itself with high phosphorus ad calcium content. All in order to widen the application areas the product is BIO-NPK-C formulated to any compound biofertiliser configuration, including solid state fermented and formulated with beneficial soil microorganism strains. The commercial product name after such formulation is PROTECTOR that is an EU-MS Authority permitted commercial product.

Up to 36% P₂O₅ content.

The Bio-Phosphate (ABC Animal Bone Char) is a granulated product in different sizes, such 0-1 mm (<18 mesh), 1-2 mm (<10 mesh) and 2-4.7 mm (<4 mesh).

No, the Bio-Phosphate is free from all and any toxic contaminants and does not containing any chemicals or artificial ingredients. Bio-Phosphate is a recovered and renewable bio-based fertiliser product.

The application dose depends on the EU regulation.For this field trial, these products all folow  the maximum of 170 kg N/ha (as the N out of animal limit).

No there are multiple systems active, but for this field trial, only these 2 products of these systems were tested. Products of simular systems have a simular behaviour when tested in field trials, so only these 2 are taken up in the field trial, also as an example of simular products with same characteristics.

1. Technology: mandatory Authority permit for establishment/building construction of industrial facility and operate it under valid EU regulations applied by the MS. Usually ten Authorities involved.
2. Products: mandatory MS Authority permit to lawfully market, label and apply  products in agricultural soil under valid EU regulations applied by the MS and other MS as of EU 2019/515. Beyond July 16, 2022 additional EU lawfully marketing opportunity is provided by EU 2019/1009.
3. Products: mandatory EU REACH certificate above 1 t/y capacity for import, manufacturing, placing on the market and applications.
4. Products: extended producer responsibility and liability schedule.

The economically interesting minimum Phosphorus content of P-rich materials should be above approx. 20% P₂O₅.  Bio-Phosphate has high nutrient concentration up to 36% P₂O₅ and used as full value bio fertilizers at dose 200 kg/ha to 1500 kg/ha.

Poultry manure biochar itself is rather low nutrient density material with low economical interest for the users, as the extra cost for processing is not reflected in the nutrient density value. The input material poultry manure itself having somewhat increased (1-3% P₂O₅ content) nutrient content versus other types of manure with low content, therefore it is of higher commercial value. Poultry manure biochar is fine grain sized and that powder like material is challenging to further formulate and apply in practice under full industrial conditions. Application dose rates are high, such as >10 t/ha. However, it is to be remarked, that biochar processing also means total sterilization of this material that is a plus environmental safety value for poultry manure biochar case.

Bio-Phosphate itself is an exceptional high P/Ca nutrient dense material such as 35% P₂O₅ content, with proper granulation size and macro porosity with BIO-NPK-C formulation possibility in any configuration. This is highly interesting for the users, as the cost for Bio-Phosphate processing is reflected in the nutrient density value and performance. Application dose rates are low, such as 0.3 t/ha average. The overall BioPhosphate cost is far lower vs. poultry manure biochar or plant based biochar, when all costs and values considered under market competitive industrial production conditions.

Usually in every second year, but if the soil is in nutrient deficit, than yearly application recommended.

No you do not need any special machine as machinery is same as inorganic fertilisers.

Bio-Phosphate is high nutrient dense innovative biofertilizer and the usual application dose is from 200 kg/ha to 1500 kg/ha, in practice 300 kg/ha, depending on local conditions.

YES, in Europe there is mandatory requirement to get permit from the MS Authorities to install/operate a pyrolysis plant for commercial production of all and any types of biochar according to EU regulations and usually ten advising Authorities involved in this mandatory permit process. The REACH regulation is also defining mandatory certificate for import, placing on the market and manufacturing of commercial biochar above 1 t/y capacity.

• Fully permitted by EU MS Authorities under strict EU legislations with link to Mutual Recognition EU 2019/515, Fertilising Products Regulation EU 2019/1009 and List of Critical Raw Materials (COM/2020/474 final).
• Industrial scale pyrolysis plant installation and operation permit number: FES/01/0851-33/2015 (Issuing Authority Industrial Safety Inspection and ten other advising Authorities)
• ABC (Animal Bone Char) BioPhosphate product horticultural biofertiliser application permit number: 6300/2407-2/2020.

• The Bio-Phosphate is fully environmental and climate sustainable with zero emission processing and carbon negative applications.
• The Bio-Phosphate is produced from a sustainable and renewable by-product streams and unexploited biomass
• 100% safe to use under any climatic and soil conditions.
• Targeting positive social and environmental impacts, improved food quality & safety for less cost.
• High efficient energy conversion process. Energy self-sufficient and auto-thermal process with surplus energy production
• Low-cost/low-energy supply chain.

Animal by-products (ABPs) are food grade materials of animal origin that people do not consume. ABPs include among others:

• Animal feed - e.g. based on fishmeal and processed animal protein.
• Organic fertilisers and soil improvers - e.g. manure, guano.
• Technical products - e.g. pet food, hides and skins for leather, nones, wool, blood for producing diagnostic tools

The use and disposal routes permitted are governed by the Regulation (EC) 1069/2009.

No, this is not. The classified waste and by-product materials are two different streams and technically/legally two different classes.

• Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials, which is discarded incinerated after primary use.
• By-products are valuable resource secondary products derived from the production and manufacturing process.

The outputs of the slaughterhouses are farmed animal products for human consumption and crude animal by-products that are further processed in other industries, such as fat processing and rendering industries to make new and safely derived products. All slaughterhouse crude animal by products (ABPs) must be processed, that is resulting derived products in the rendering industry. Slaughterhouses do not processing animal by-products but deliver such materials to other and specialized industries, specialized for fat processing and rendering operations only at the usual processing condition 133°C on 3 bars under 20 minutes conditions.

The direct (untreated) agricultural use of the crude protein content animal rendering products provides high environmental risk by possible trans and recontamination by human and animal pathogens. Despite animal rendering by-products (protein based bone meal and MBM) are sterile products at the point of production, there is a very high risk for cross and recontamination during applications. While rendered products leave the cooker negative of the bacteria, recontamination can occur anywhere along the way. Most animal by-products are not suitable for direct production of high quality recovered Phosphorus fertiliser, but food grade animal bones, horns and hoofs only.

NO, absolutely not. MBM mix is a very different product and not suitable with its very high meat content and low bone content.

Production of Bio-Phosphate from MBM: absolutely not, there is no any technical reason and economical viability, possibility and rationality to convert high protein low P content MBM to Bio-Phosphate. MBM can be rationally utilized for bioenergy via pyroylsis processing.

MBM - meat and bone meal mix is made by “rendering” of categories 1 and 2 animal by-product (ABP) materials by processing at 133°C at 3 bars pressure for at least 20 minutes, to ensure partial sanitization (this is considered to be sufficient to eliminate bacteria and viruses but not prions, which prion elimination require processing temperature treatment over 500°C material core) . The rendered product typically contains about 48–52% high protein content, 33–35% ash, 8–12% fat, and 7-10% moisture. The MBM rendering process produces energy or the products are taken in energy-production installations authorized to take these categories of animal by products for energy conversion. Meat and Bone Meal Ash is produced by high temperature incineration/calcination treatment of MBM in a heat process conform to the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU Incineration Directive) Article 6 = conditions of incineration at minimum 850°C for at least 2 seconds, TOC (total organic carbon) in ash powder <3%. These conditions ensure complete elimination of all pathogens.

The input material for producing P-rich Bio-Phosphate product is food grade animal bone grist, usually cattle bones, which is made from selected Category 3 food grade animal bones only. Bio-Phosphate processing is a mono feed industrial operation. The material is collected by the bone processing rendering industries and processed separately, with processing under 133°C. Processed bone contains typically about 30–38% protein content, 50–62% mineral, 5–8% fat, and 7-10% moisture. Bone Meal/Bone Grist is also used for production and extraction of gelatine for the human food industry; China bone (burned bone ash powder for porcelain industry); pet food and Bio-Phosphate production by 3R Zero Emission Pyrolysis technology. Bio-Phosphate is granular and 1-5 mm sized bone char product with up to 36% P₂O₅ high nutrient density and can be used as full value bio fertiliser (primarily for organic / low input horticulture and urban agriculture) and/or as an specific water treatment adsorbent. Bio-Phosphate is applicable at soil and soilless media biocultivations as well.

You can replace a large part of it but have to consider an nutrient analysis of the compost and compare it to the need of your crop. Then you have to add the nutrients that are still required. The advantage is here that you can use singular nutrients for this purpose and you will need considerably less.

We assume they do but will do a soil analysis at the end of the trial to assess this. In addition, the ashes can be pelletized or granulated for use.

We took a sample before application, and one during application: the composition was very comparable.

We took a sample before application, and one during application: the composition was very comparable.

We didn’t analyse this parameter but we expect a low concentration, comparable with chloride.

We didn’t analyse this parameter but we expect a low concentration, comparable with chloride.

Approximately the same as nitrogen:  4 à 5% (40 à 50 kg/ton)

Indeed, 100% N-advice scrubber water contained S sufficiently so no extra S was administered here. In this fieldtrialonly N was the limiting factor because all fields contained P, K, S sufficiently.

Some fields were not cultivated to have an idea of ​​the mineralization. Fields that were next to these suffered wind speeds up to 90 km/h at the end of April: parts were sandblasted, by consequence the uptake was lower. These fields were applicated with 70% N advice for pig urine and scrubber water. The high residues therefore have nothing to do with the cultivation itself. For now nothing has been leached yet ,  all nitrogen is still in the top layer.

We used the test field fertilizer (arable coulters at about 12 cm from each other). Immediately after application there is a superficial milling and rolling in all objects. A week later (because of harvest planning factory) deep cultivation with cultivator (not turning) and afterwards rotary harrow + sowing. The same in all objects.

Darker color grass, comparable yields, no ‘burning’ of crops, equal or lower N leaching.

Compared to (extra) fertilisation with KAS or Urean the (extra) fertilisation with ammonium sulphate from biogas installation Biogas Bree amounts to a benefit of 50 to 60€/ha.

Ammonium sulphate set at price 10 à 15€/m³ in the UNIR-project.

Ammonium sulphate (‘spuiwater’) from (digestate dryer-based) chemical air scrubber is regarded as a mineral fertiliser – implying it can be used above the 170kg N/ha from animal manure, and implying it doesn’t have same transport-requirements (e.g. Flanders: ‘erkendmestvoerder’). This ammonium sulphate is to be registered starting from 1/1/2020 (before COVID19-condition – now 1/1/2021) in the mineral fertiliser-register (MAP 6).

There is no price yet because there is no market yet. It depends on the physique quality of the ashes and the difficulty for the ashes producer to sell them but the inherent value can be evaluate nearby 130 € / t.

Ashes composition mainly depends on the soil where trees have grew up. Wood chips come from hedges in the country side witch are growing on farm soils without any industry or car traffic. The minerals come from fields and return to fields. There is no concentration.

In order to maintain soil fertility, 2 tonnes every three years is recommended. Soil analysis may help to modulate theses doses.

You must be careful about the wind because the product is powder.

P₂O₅ 3%, K₂O 8%, MgO 4% and it is also a liming material: neutralising value: 40%.

The algal-based biofertilizer obtained is a very interesting product, but they think that the biggest problem is its nutrient content (especially the nitrogen content). Therefore, they believe that the best option would be to market this biofertilizer in order to blend it with other fertilizers and obtain a final fertilizer with the appropriate nutrients.

It is very important to check if the technology can be valid for other types of wastewater. Because, they think that the success of this technology, is that it has been used as raw material fruit and vegetable processed wastewater (this wastewater contains a lot of organic load and nutrients).

It solves the major problem of technical and economic viability from algae cultivation (space requirements).

1. The price. The selling price of the biofertilizer must be competitive with that of current fertilizers (the origin of the fertilizer does not concern them, as long as it complies with the legislation).
2. The nutrient content. Depending on the quality of the struvite it can contain a different concentration of N and P. It is important that the concentration of the nutrients is sufficient to carry out the fertilization. If this is not the case, blending should be used and the possible cost of blending should be assessed.

From technical point of view there is no inconvenience in using it. Its effectiveness has been tested on a significant scale.

Because it improves soil structure and OC content and to meet the P-regulation (you only need to count 50% of the P-content).

• The growers have little knowledge of the soil improving properties of compost.
• Half of them know that it has a biocontrol effect.
• All users had issues with fungi, plastic and rocks in the compost even though they used certified compost.
• Only half of the growers realize that compost is a fertiliser.
• The nutrient content of the compost is most important for the growers, but even then it seems that only 25% of the growers realize that compost has a fertilising effect and can replace other fertilizers.
• All of them indicated that the fertiliser regulation limits the application possibilities and prevents them to use more compost.
• Only 38% believes in the biocontrol effect of compost.
• 88% have issues with contaminants, availability and quality but only half of them uses certified compost.

The biology of the compost is most important to the growers, for a minority the nutrients too. Next to the quality, the certification of the product is important. Even more than the price.