Process & contact
N2-Applied
Member of ESPP www.n2applied.com
Updated 3/2022
Input materials
Manure slurry, biogas digestate (any inputs)
Output products
Combines N fixed from air with N in manure/slurry to produce a stabilised, ammonium nitrate based, liquid fertiliser product, with a high nitrogen use efficiency and significantly reduced emissions of ammonia and methane during storage and field application.
Process description
Firstly, manure/slurry is solid/liquid separated. Most of the phosphorus stays in the solid fraction. The liquid fraction is then treated as follows.
Using renewable electricity and air, a plasma reactor fixes nitrogen from air, generating nitrogen oxides, which are mixed into manure/slurry and react to form nitrates and nitrites. This lowers the pH so that ammonium nitrogen is stabilised. After solid/liquid separation the liquid fraction of manure or digestate can be managed as a liquid nitrogen fertiliser and most of the phosphorus will remain in the solid fraction.
Operating status
Farm scale pilots have been executed in 2021 and 2022 treating between 5 and 15 m3/day (of liquid fraction) on farms in UK, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Netherlands, on fresh cow and pig manure and on a variety of biogas digestates (varying in feedstock). Pilot runs have included 24/7 for periods of months.
Commercial launch in 2022 with N2 Units treating between 5 and 15 m3 (of liquid fraction) per day, mostly depending on the ammonia-N content of the input material.