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Carboxilic Acid Platform (CAP) as starting point for a bio-based fertilizer
The current fertilizers are made using exhaustible resources, which have a negative impact on our climate.
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For example, phosphor and nitrogen are extracted from fossil raw materials or by using a big amount of energy derived from fossil fuels. These raw materials are becoming more and more scarce, highlighting the need for new, renewable resources.
The Carboxylic Acid Platform (CAP) is a green, biological technology which allows the production of a complex solution. Multiple natural bacteria, found on the agricultural waste, break down the organic matter into nutrients and short carbon chains. Second, these short carbon chains are elongated to longer, more energy rich molecules. To sum up: the CAP recycles organic, agricultural waste into a nutrient and energy rich solution.
The CAP solution can be used by Avecom as feed source to produce microbial proteins. These microbial proteins are a very nutritious bioavailable nitrogen source for the agricultural crops. They are easily taken up and stimulate growth and increase yield. CAP solution is also rich in micronutrients such as magnesium, calcium, etc. The Paint group from the Ghent University can separate these micronutrients using a specialized membrane technology called electrodialysis. These nutrients can be added to the bio-based fertilizer to support the growth of the crops and make nutrient-rich soils.
After harvesting, the newly produced agricultural waste can again be converted into a CAP solution, which in turn is again converted into a bio-based fertilizer available for the next harvest.
More news about this project:
1st Regional RUSTICA workshop in Flanders on the 18th of October 2021!
Flanders was the first RUSTICA region to organise a multi-stakeholder workshop with about 20 attendees involved in different parts of the bio-based fertiliser (BBF) value chain including farmers association, fertiliser companies, technology providers, policymakers and research organisations.
Circular bioeconomy and how this will benefit the RUSTICA project
The circular bioeconomy covers many sectors with different interests and goals – agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food production, pulp, and paper production, as well as parts of the chemical, biotechnological, and energy industries, policy domains, and stakeholders with different interests and goals.
RUSTICA in the context of natural renewable resources
Currently, the international and European economy is mainly based on resources of fossil origin. These resources are subject to debate not only because of their finiteness but also with regard to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.