PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
A general objective of the LIFE programme is to contribute to the transition to a low-carbon economy that is based on efficient use of resources and is resilient in the face of climate change. The transition should be aligned with the European Union's greenhouse gas reduction goals: presently there is a legal obligation to achieve a 20% reduction by 2020, compared to 1990. The EU also has adopted complementary legislation that, among other priorities, promotes the development and safe use of greenhouse-gas capture technologies, either at landfill sites or in industrial processes. Different projects have moved beyond the capturing of greenhouse gases, to using the captured gases in systems that work in accordance with circular economy principles by using waste from one sector as an input for another.
OBJECTIVES
In the LIFE_FERTILIFE project, waste gases from the ceramic industry would be used in agriculture as an acidifier in irrigation water. The LIFE_FERTILIFE project aimed to develop a prototype in which CO2 emissions from a ceramics factory would be captured and used to carbonate water that will be used to irrigate crops. The project would: 1. Demonstrate the feasibility of “carbonic fertigation” – the injection of carbon into an irrigation system – for citrus crops, and analyse the impact of the continued use of CO2 in the soil and plant irrigation network. 2. Design and implement techniques for proper CO2 dissolution in a drip irrigation system, and monitor the implementation of the system and its deployment on different plots. 3. Assess the impact of carbonic fertigation on root respiration, and thus on total soil organic matter content. 4. Quantify the impact of carbonic fertigation on the use of chelates and other fertilisers. The use of chelates (chemical compounds) in agriculture is necessary to help plants absorb trace elements such as iron from soils with high pH, as in the Mediterranean basin.
Expected results: The beneficiary aimed to achieve the following results:
- Capture of 30-50% of the CO2 emitted by a ceramics factory;
- Develop a technology for the correct dosage and dispersion of CO2 in an irrigation network;
- Reduce the use of chelates by 95% through the dissolution of CO2 in irrigation water, which will promote absorption by crops of iron from the soil. The project will estimate economic savings from the reduced use of chelates; and
- The use of CO2 in the irrigation water is expected to reduce soil respiration values by 5-10%, helping limit the decomposition of organic matter in the soil.
RESULTS
The LIFE_FERTILIFE project encountered several problems with the plot selection and the final project plot had different characteristics from the one initially defined. The plot was farther than expected and with a ravine between the plot and the industrial plant. This derived into a substantial modifications in the pilot plant design (in size, water source and key components). Moreover the beneficiaries found out that the low concentration of CO2 in the gas stream was insufficient to irrigate the agricultural plots with relevant results. Under such circumstances, there was no chance that the project could achieve its objectives or expected results.
In this context, the project was terminated earlier, in 2019.
