Market technology based on membranes for the reduction of ammonia in livestock farms

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

The National Emission reduction Commitments (NEC) Directive (2016/2284) establishes emission reduction commitments applicable for 2020 and 2030 onwards. In Spain, reductions of 3% and 16%, respectively, are expected. These ceilings are a limitation for the competitiveness of the EU livestock sector. Ammonia (NH₃) causes air pollution, including the formation of particulate matter (PM), and acidification and eutrophication of soil and water, damaging vegetation, biodiversity and human health. In 2017, the agricultural sector was responsible for 3.6 million tons of NH₃ emissions, or 92% of the EU total. NH₃ emissions from livestock represent 64% of this. NH₃ is mainly produced by manure decomposition and mineral nitrogen (N) fertilisers. Emissions occur from livestock buildings (44%), manure storages (25%) and land application (31%). There are several technologies focused on N recovery, including gas-permeable membrane (GPM) technology developed by the previous LIFE Ammonia Trapping (AT) project. GPM technology has several advances over other N-recovery technologies, such as reverse osmosis, zeolite adsorption or co-precipitation, as it does not require high pressure or the pre-treatment of manure, can remove NH₃ without the needing for Mg and PO₄ in struvite precipitation, can collect NH₃ from the air, and does not alter farm operations.

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of the LIFE Green Ammonia project is to reduce ammonia (NH₃) emissions from excreta, in pig and poultry farms, from the atmosphere of the farm and in the manure storage tanks. In the project areas in Spain and Portugal, the NH₃ emissions for the pig and poultry farms are around 7.4 tons/year. The project team aim to reduce these emissions by developing, scaling up and marketing two commercial models for NH₃ recovery in gaseous and liquid media. This technology will be based on gas-permeable membranes (GPM) already tested in the LIFE15 ENV ES 000284 LIFE AMMONIA TRAPPING.

This main objective will be supported by the following specific objectives:

• Transforming N-NH₃ from stored manure in a commercial fertiliser, by reducing up to 50% of NH₃ emissions. Achievements of a 30% reduction in emissions can be considered as a suitable performance benchmark for good practice;
• Transforming N-NH₃ from the air in the animal buildings into a commercial fertiliser, by reducing up to 35% of NH₃ emissions;
• Replicating and improving the results of the model for atmosphere in the poultry farm of the Portuguese partner by transferring the air commercial model, adapting the model to the new farm conditions;
• Marketing the results in livestock sectors by means of Transference, Business and Exploitation Plans;
• Developing membrane panels in the EU to test new materials and contact manufacture companies;
• Transformation of by-products in certified fertilisers and application of the final product in the field to be tested;
• Developing two strategies to commercialise the fertiliser product: as a liquid fertiliser for fertigation and concentrating the product as an ingredient for the fertiliser industry;
• Promoting policy initiatives to replicate and transfer the project results as a Best Available Technique and national administrations support;
• Developing monitoring tasks to evaluate the actions and impact of the project as well as the LIFE KPIs;
• Developing dissemination actions to promote the project results.
  

The project contributes to achieving the objectives of EU Directive 2001/81/EC on national emission ceilings for certain atmospheric pollutants; the National Emission reduction Commitments (NEC) Directive (2016/2284/EU); and Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions. The project also contributes to EU policies related to the protection of water bodies against pollution caused by nitrates used in agriculture (Directive 2000/60/EC and Directive 91/676/EEC), since ammonia emissions are deposited in soil and water where they cause problems due to eutrophication and acidification.

RESULTS

Expected results:

• Recovery of N from manure and from inside the animal houses at on-farm scale with the new gas-permeable membrane (GPM) technology commercial models, mitigating NH₃ emissions from pig and poultry farms, showing its economic profitability and improvement against other current alternatives for NH₃ reduction;
• Treatment of manure in the liquid commercial model reducing NH₃ emissions by 50%;
• Treatment of air from the animal houses in the air commercial model, reducing NH₃ emissions by 35%;
• Demonstration at on-farm scale of the feasibility of GPM technology in a pig farm and a poultry farm;
• Transfer of know-how of the air commercial model from the pig sector to the poultry sector. Testing only the air commercial model in Portugal, because manure in poultry farms is managed as a solid;
• Development of the project’s technology in two EU countries to test it under two different socio-economic conditions, as the legal requirements, handling of animals, manure, cleaning activities, and other farm activities may be different;
• Export of N off the farm in the form of certified fertilisers;
• Generation of two types of N-based certified fertilisers, one as a concentrated salt of ammonium sulphate - (NH₄)₂SO₄ - and another one as a liquid form to be used for fertigation.