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2013|14 Annual Report Fraunhofer IGB

113 Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Daniel Frank Phone +49 711 970-3629 daniel.frank@igb.fraunhofer.de Dipl.-Ing. Siegfried Egner Phone +49 711 970-3643 siegfried.egner@igb.fraunhofer.de Funding We would like to thank the European Union, the German Fed- eral Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for funding various projects. Soil conditioners from organic residues The direct application of untreated fermentation residues or liquid manure to fields generally results in losses of nitrogen through emission of ammonia, by nitrate leaching as well as release of nitrous oxide, leading to concerns of climate change. The recovery of N, P and K salts as well as the con- ditioning and stabilization of an organic matrix can reduce these nitrogen losses from the soil and increase the efficiency of the nutrient utilization. Additionally, by using organic solid residues alone, a soil-specific substrate can be created, with which the quality of the planted areas can be improved, e.g. regarding their moisture and nutrient absorption capacity. In various national and EU-funded research and industrial proj- ects, we are working on the processing of such residues and nutrients recovery, from both the liquid phase (precipitation of P salts, production of an ammonium sulfate solution) and the solid phase (drying with a new type of low-energy process to produce carbonaceous soil conditioners). Fertilizer products combined with plant protection In EU-funded projects, we are also focusing on the develop- ment of environmentally-friendly plant protection products that can be combined with nutrients in a quantity that is optimal for the plant. For instance, a preparation suitable for the treatment of downy mildew and enriched with micronu- trients is being developed in a project for organic viticulture. We utilize microalgae for the production of this natural plant protection product in order to reduce the use of copper-based fungicides in agriculture. Outlook Our technologies are constantly being further developed and implemented by a team of scientists and technicians to meet specific customer requirements. Our portfolio ranges from the initial idea to realization on a pilot scale and includes field tri- als to test the effectiveness of these special-purpose fertilizers. Together with our partners and customers, we can therefore recover nutrients from a very wide range of material cycles 1 Phosphate salt crystals obtained by precipitation. 2 Dried and pelletized organic soil conditioners from fermentation residues. 3 Pilot plant for the electrochemical extraction of magnesium-ammonium-phosphate from wastewater. 3 and process them to create designer fertilizers in order to close nutrient cycles. Contacts

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