MANUREFINERY

Smart modular mobile biorefining of manure to zero-waste maximising resource and nutrient recovery for feed and fertiliser bioingredients in rural areas

Project details

Type of project
Innovation Action - Demonstration
Feedstock origin
Organic waste
Feedstock type
Crop residues
Project period
1 September 2024 - 31 August 2028
Status
Completed
CBE JU Contribution
€ 7 236 512,5
Call identifier
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2023

Summary

While livestock is an extremely important activity for the European rural economy, it has a significant environmental impact due to the billion tonnes of manure produced annually.  

MANUREFINERY will develop a smart, modular, mobile, and sustainable small-scale decentralised biorefinery that converts livestock manure into bio-based feed and fertiliser with the aim to improve the use of manure and control NH3 emissions. The project will create seven new value chains in the livestock sector, producing seven bioingredients from any type of manure.

The MANUREFINERY solution has a high scalability and replicability potential through:

  • Advanced thermo- and bio-chemical modular and mobile feedstock conversion units.
  • Digital twin and data science for multicriteria decision-making and process optimisation, upscaling and replicability.
  • Economic, social, environmental sustainability and circularity assessment framework.
  • Strategies to boost the engagement of livestock stakeholders and enhance social acceptance of the solution.
  • New sustainable and replicable business models for income diversification in the livestock sector.

MANUREFINERY will run TRL 6-7 level demonstrations in two pig farms in Romania and Spain, a cow farm in Slovenia and a poultry farm in Romania, thus promoting sustainable bioeconomy in these countries.

To improve the management of manure and control of NH3 emissions, MANUREFINERY aims to:

  • Develop a comprehensive design of the MANUREFINERY valorisation units, custom-engineering every modular system to ensure reliability, flexibility, operational simplicity, and economic accessibility of the technologies and resources. The project will develop a digital twin of the biorefinery to optimise and predict its performance and help with scaling up  and replication of the technologies.
  • Demonstrate and validate the MANUREFINERY technologies for the use of livestock manure for animal feed and fertiliser bioingredients.
  • Demonstrate the techno-economic viability of the MANUREFINERY and its environmental and socio-economic benefits. The project will define economic requirements and operational expenses of the proposed technologies, providing a comprehensive overview of the required investment and profitability. MANUREFINERY will also implement life cycle analysis tools.
  • Ensure the adaptability and replicability of the MANUREFINERY with implementation strategies, engagement of key stakeholders, a roadmap to replicate the solution and a multicriteria decision-making tool.
  • Identify market opportunities and create business models for the EU’s livestock sector.  
  • Promote and disseminate the MANUREFINERY concept and benefits among livestock stakeholders and the general audience. 

MANUREFINERY expects to have technological, social, regulatory, environmental, and economic impacts by:

  • Promoting new economically viable and sustainable business models based on the conversion of biomass feedstock into bioingredients that will contribute to a green transition in primary production and rural areas.
  • Deploying seven innovative value chains in rural areas, focusing on fair economic return at the farm level.
  • Encouraging principles of the circular economy and resource efficiency.
  • Diversifying the income in rural areas by encouraging primary producers to explore new and innovative routes of using livestock side streams.
  • Improving the competitiveness and environmental sustainability of livestock production in rural areas, contributing to new skilled job opportunities and investments in bio-based production.
  • Promoting the social acceptance of circular bio-based solutions and bioingredients.  

Consortium map

Project coordination

  • INSTITUTO TECNOLOGICO DE ARAGON Zaragoza, Spain

Consortium

  • KMETIJSKI INSTITUT SLOVENIJE - AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE OF SLOVENIA Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • GUASCOR ENERGY R&D SA VITORIA GASTEIZ, Spain
  • UNIVERSIDAD DE VALLADOLID VALLADOLID, Spain
  • WAGRALIM Gosselies, Belgium
  • UNIVERSIDAD DE ZARAGOZA Zaragoza, Spain
  • UNIVERSITEIT GENT Gent, Belgium
  • DETRICON Merelbeke, Belgium
  • UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI FIRENZE Florence, Italy
  • TECHNOLOGIES VIO - ENERGEIAS IDIOTIKI KEFALAIOUCHIKI ETAIREIA THESSALONIKI, Greece
  • COMPANIA GENERAL DE COMPRAS AGROPECUARIAS SLU LLEIDA, Spain
  • COLSEN, ADVIESBURO VOOR MILIEUTECHNIEK BV Hulst, Netherlands
  • SYSPRO AUTOMATION SL NIGRAN, Spain
  • FERTINAGRO BIOTECH SL Teruel, Spain
  • BIOEAST HUB CR, Z. U. PRAHA 5, Czechia
  • ROMANIAN ACADEMY NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH Bucharest, Romania
  • ENCO SRL Napoli, Italy
  • DENVER COM SRL BUCURESTI, Romania
  • CELIGNIS LIMITED Limerick, Ireland
  • INTERPROD INVEST SRL TUNARI ILFOV, Romania
  • AGROPECUARIA DEL CENTRO AGROCESA SA ALDEAMAYOR DE SAN MARTIN, Spain
Partners
  • INEUVO LTD Lichfield, United Kingdom