IMPROVING INNOVATION CAPACITIES OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC ACTORS FOR SUSTAINABLE AND PROFITABLE RECYCLING OF LIVESTOCK WASTE

The Mediterranean region is known for its intensive livestock farming, especially for the breeding of pigs and cattle. These activities result in vast amounts of waste that necessitate proper treatment. Inadequate manure treatment can cause eutrophication of surface waters, enrichment of nitrates and pathogens into groundwater, detection of excess nutrients and heavy metals in soil, and increase GHGs emissions. RE-LIVE WASTE is an Interreg MED project (2/2018-4/2021) that focused on testing innovative solutions for livestock waste management in Cyprus, Italy, Spain, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The proposed route to address the environmental and financial problems associated with livestock waste was through nutrient recovery and the precipitation of an organo-metallic fertilizer known as struvite. Each participating region constructed and operated a struvite precipitation plant that transformed anaerobically treated and untreated livestock waste from cattle, pig, and mixed waste into struvite. Different treatment trains were followed in each demonstrative pilot to record the effects of treatment and source of waste on the final product. In Cyprus struvite was produced by a mixed effluent that was anaerobically digested and filtered with filter bags and UF ceramic membranes. The struvite produced had a purity between 90-99% based on the applied conditions.