Recycled fertilizer products from organic side streams

THE PASKÍER® PROCESS DEVELOPED BY NANOPAR OY TURNS ORGANIC SIDE STREAMS INTO RECYCLED FERTILISER PRODUCTS WITH SMALL CARBON FOOTPRINT. THE COMPANY, BASED IN PUUMALA, IS TARGETING THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET.

At the moment, the market for recycled fertilisers is small, but there is strong pressure for growth. Recycled fertilisers help promote the fertiliser self-sufficiency of various countries. As an organic solution, they support the condition of soil, and compared to mineral fertilisers, their production processes are low in emissions. Enabling the nutrient cycle can also help control phosphorus runoff into waterways. Nanopar Ltd set out to respond to this need by developing the Paskíer ®Process for the affordable and sustainable production of recycled fertilisers in 2017.

The solution Nanopar offers wastewater treatment plants, biogas plants and the process industry for processing side streams is based on a combination of existing equipment proven to be functional. At the heart of the technology is a patented, vacuum-assisted infrared dryer widely used in the process- and mining industry that can be used to dry sewage sludge, biogas plant digestion residues and other organic side streams easily and efficiently. The process is compact and placed directly on-site, which brings not only transport savings but also helps reduce emissions.

– We take our technology on-site, and this results in locally produced fertiliser products. Of course, as the product is processed into dry granules, it is also relatively economic to transport and sell it further away, says Jaakko Kuntonen, CEO of Nanopar.

On average, untreated sewage sludge contains 20 per cent of solids and 80 per cent water. After being treated with the Paskíer® Process, the end product has been dried to a solids content that exceeds 90 per cent in accordance with the Finnish fertiliser legislation. The evaporation rate of the infrared dryer is unparalleled:

– It takes about 1 kWh of energy to evaporate one litre of liquid using other thermal drying methods, whereas our technology evaporates two litres with the same amount of energy, Kuntonen says.

The dried sludge or digestion residue can be used as a soil improver as it is. For fertiliser use, the biomass is first ground and then complemented with plant- and soil-specific nutrients. Finally, the product is granulated and bagged. Fertilisers thus created comply with the Finnish fertiliser legislation and, depending on the feed material, are applicable to a wide range of fertiliser requirements.

At the moment, Nanopar is focusing on the Finnish and Northern European market, but it also has plans for going global:

– The EU area includes approximately 180 million hectares of farmland, and most of it could be fertilised with sludge-based products made with our process.