Nitrogen and phosphorus harvesting from liquid waste using gas permeable hydrophobic membrane (GPHM) - NPHARVEST: – End-Product Market study

Abstract

Nutrient recycling is an important segment of the circular economy. There are several techniques used in the field of nutrient recycling from different types of waste. Recently, nutrient recycling technique is receiving more attention on the production of mineral fertilizer from waste. Several types of mineral fertilizer products can be produced from waste but ammonium-based mineral fertilizers or ammonium sulfate is the dominant recycled mineral fertilizer. Our NPHarvest project also produces the ammonium-based fertilizer by harvesting nitrogen from waste. It also produces calcium, phosphate and organic matter based products. Besides the production of recycled fertilizers, it is very important to study the market potential of these recycled products to make this idea sustainable. This report covers the market potential of recycled mineral fertilizers in Finland. The study was carried out by gathering literature and contacting the stakeholders. Recycled liquid and granular ammonium sulfate are used in Finnish agriculture on a small scale. As sulfate is not suitable for Finnish soil the demand for ammonium sulfate fertilizers is small. This study found that ammonium nitrate has a higher market value compared to other recycled mineral fertilizers. Ammonium nitrate is highly demanded fertilizer for farmers as well as the large fertilizer companies like Yara international. This report will help the nutrients recycling sector to understand the market of different types of fertilizers in Finland so they can change their products and expand their market.