Delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture of Northern Ireland visits Dutch FERTIMANURE pilot plant
13/10/2022
A special delegation of officials from the Ministry of Agriculture of Northern Ireland visited the Achterhoek region of the Netherlands on 2 August in order to learn more about manure treatment and valorisation.
As part of their mission, they paid a visit to the Dutch FERTIMANURE pilot plant at the Arjan Prinsen Farm (APF) to get an impression of small-scale at-farm anaerobic digestion and nutrient recovery and valorisation.
Arjan Prinsen Farm is a dairy farm with about 60 cows that digests the manure followed by manure separation (screw press) into a solid fraction (organic soil improver) and a liquid fraction. The latter is further treated with a settling tank tapping of a P-rich sludge and with a nitrogen stripper and washer producing a liquid K fertiliser and ammonium sulphate solution, both being used on his own land by the farmer.
The organic soil improver and P sludge can be used by other farmers in the region and the country.
The visit gave the delegation a lot of useful information and insights on how to deal with manure (surpluses) and valorise it in the Northern Ireland region where dairy farming forms a large part of the economy.