BIOSMARTFERT

BIOpolymers from agri-food waste digestates for SMART release bioFERTilisers

The BIOSMARTFERT Project aims to define the production chain of a new generation of renewable biofertilizers with a modulated release, described below as SMART release FERTilisers (SRF), derived from digestate of biowaste.

The BIOSMARTFERT Project is therefore divided into three main phases:

During the first phase, the following processes will be carried out: (i) dark fermentation process to produce digestate and volatile fatty acids (VFA): (ii) the VFAs produced will be used as feedstock for polyhydroxyalkanoates production by using photosynthetic microorganisms; (iii) the PHA produced will then be extracted and purified employing green chemistry processes using water-based solutions to produce material for encapsulating granulated digestates; (iv) the SFR in the form of hydrogel and PHA-coated pellets will be tested on agronomic plants in mesocosms to verify the fertilizing properties.

In addition, the SRF production chain will be mathematically modeled in all its segments to assess the SRF yield and optimise the performance of all biological processes involved.

In the second phase, particular attention will be paid to the feasibility and sustainability of the project; in particular, a life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis and a preliminary economic evaluation will be conducted on the SFR production. Moreover, stakeholders will be involved in defining new models of packaging, distribution and marketing of the product. Finally, great importance will also be given to regulatory aspects.

For the duration of the project, the great experience of the PI will be put at the service of achieving the objectives to verify the expected results and manage the research units.

The third step of the project will be devoted to the dissemination and communication of the project results.