Two new techs to combat Baltic eutrophication get pre-commercialization boost
Testing has started on BioPhree® and TerraNova® Ultra, which aim to stop waste phosphorus reaching the sea and recycle it as agricultural fertilizer, in demonstration sites in Sweden. This is part of a package of pre-commercialization support offered by the EU co-funded project BONUS RETURN.
BONUS RETURN is exploring how technologies can turn nutrients causing eutrophication, such as phosphorus, into profitable and sustainable solutions that can be scaled up in the Baltic Sea region.
BioPhree, from Netherlands-based water treatment specialists Aquacare, and German company TerraNova’s Ultra, were both winners of a competition run by the project, whose aim was to identify promising nutrient-capture technologies. The winners are receiving pre-commercialization support aimed to achieve Technological Readiness Level (TRL) 6 or above. The support includes: product testbeds, help with business plans, product development, and introduction to potential markets in the Baltic region.
BioPhree captures dissolved phosphorus in water and generates a liquid fertilizer for agricultural use. It can be used in both surface water (e.g. lakes, rivers, streams and run-off from fields) and wastewater. It will be tested at a wastewater treatment plant in Knivsta municipality, north of Stockholm.
“My expectation of the tests is to get good data and results on phosphorus removal at a specific, well-defined wastewater treatment plant in Scandinavia. The tests will give us more data, knowledge, and possible market opportunities in the Baltic Sea region,” said Koos Baas, Director at Aquacare. Baas also hopes the results of the testing will raise awareness on the effect phosphorus has in causing harmful algal blooms in the Baltic Sea.
The TerraNova® Ultra technology extracts phosphorus and, potentially, another nutrient that causes eutrophication, nitrogen. It also produces a charcoal-like fuel and boosts biogas production from sewage sludge in wastewater treatment plants. TerraNova is currently operating the first plant of this kind in China. TerraNova® Ultra is being tested at the Norrsundet Slamförädling AB pilot plant in Gävle, around 175 km outside Stockholm.
“Companies producing wet organic wastes such as sewage sludge, beer brewery waste, chicken manure etc. will be able to see real data on how hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) treatment performs on their waste and what products can be derived using the technology,” said Rickard Widerberg, project engineer at Norrsundet Slamförädling AB.
“To combat eutrophication, there is a need to test new solutions in real operative settings. Hopefully they fly and can play an important role for the whole of the Baltic region,” said Sten Stenbeck, Senior Project leader at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden.
For interviews or further information, please contact:
Karina Barquet, Project Coordinator BONUS RETURN, Research Fellow Stockholm Environment Institute
karina.barquet@sei.org +46 70 388 5690
Brenda Ochola, Communications Officer, BONUS RETURN
brenda.ochola@sei.org +46 73 707 8613
Sten Stenbeck, Senior Project leader RISE, BONUS RETURN
sten.stenbeck@ri.se +46 10 516 6337
BONUS RETURN consists of a consortium of partners in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Poland:
Stockholm Environment Institute (coordinating partner)
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
Warsaw University of Life Sciences
BONUS RETURN has received funding from BONUS (Art 185), funded jointly by the EU and Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research FORMAS, Sweden’s innovation agency VINNOVA, Academy of Finland and National Centre for Research and Development in Poland.
www.bonusreturn.eu | Twitter: #BonusReturn
BONUS is a joint research and development programme producing knowledge to support development and implementation of regulations, policies and management practices specifically tailored for the Baltic Sea region. It issues calls for competitive proposals and funds projects of high excellence and relevance based on its strategic research agenda.
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