Nutrient Recovery from Manure and Digestate in Flanders and the Netherlands

Nutrient recovery technologies from manure and digestate are implemented at six sites in Flanders, Belgium, and the Netherlands under the ReNu2Farm project. Technologies include ammonia stripping, evaporation, reverse osmosis, anaerobic digestion, composting, and incineration of poultry litter. The report details working principles, technology readiness levels (TRL), and fertiliser outputs such as ammonium nitrate, phosphorus- and carbon-rich biosolids, and nutrient concentrates. Key challenges include inconsistent legal frameworks for manure-derived fertilisers—especially in nitrate vulnerable zones—and divergent quality standards and certification requirements across regions. The project, funded by Interreg North-West Europe, aims to scale up nutrient recycling from pilot to farm level. Published under a CC BY licence on 31 December 2020, the report is authored by Ghent University (Belgium) and the Nutrient Management Institute (Netherlands). Case studies cover Detricon (ammonia stripping), AM-Power (evaporation), Arbio (reverse osmosis), Attero (anaerobic digestion and composting), BMC Moerdijk (incineration), and Groot Zevert Vergisting (acidification with reverse osmosis). The report structure includes company background, technology description, product types, and implementation barriers.