The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology is collaborating on new research to convert farm waste into high-performance, low-emission fertilisers, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and farmers’ costs.
The two new projects are supporting the transition towards sustainable nutrient solutions in UK agriculture and are among 15 innovative trials funded through the Farming Innovation Programme, delivered by Defra in partnership with Innovate UK.
The innovations aim to provide lower-emission alternatives to conventional mineral fertilisers. Greenhouse gas savings are expected to arise from the production process, which converts nutrient-rich waste feedstocks from poultry litter into bio-fertilisers with a negative carbon footprint. Where these products are used to reduce reliance on mineral fertilisers, and when applied alongside low-emission farming practices, there is real potential to reduce nitrous oxide emissions from soils and deliver wider carbon and nutrient savings.
The CLEAR-FARM project, has been awarded £1.7 million over three years, and is being delivered by a partnership between CCm Technologies and UKCEH.
Researchers will make use of poultry litter - manure, bedding materials and feathers - which now totals 1.5 million tonnes a year in the UK. They will demonstrate a novel method involving fermentation and low-temperature thermal treatment to convert poultry litter into a safe nutrient-rich fertiliser pellet with a negative carbon footprint.
Turning waste into high-performance fertiliser
The fertiliser will be rigorously tested through field trials and laboratory analysis, quantifying greenhouse gas savings and wider environmental benefits. The project will also assess the potential effectiveness of putting other types of livestock manure through the same process.
The researchers will develop online tools with farmers and policymakers, including an interactive nutrient map hosted on the CLEAR-FARM digital hub, to support the practical application of the product on farms.
The BioBLEND project, led by Cefetra Ltd and involving UKCEH as a partner, has been awarded £1.34 million over three years. This project will develop biochar-based fertiliser pellets for use in UK cereal production, a sector associated with high greenhouse gas emissions due to nitrogen fertiliser use.
Benefits of biochar
The trials will involve heating up farm waste at high temperatures without oxygen – a process known as pyrolysis – to produce biochar which will be combined with poultry fly ash and applied to fields for the trial. UKCEH will measure the potential for greenhouse gas mitigation and improved soil health in these crop trials.
Biochar is a charcoal-like substance that is effective at absorbing nutrients and also locks away carbon for centuries, enhancing soil fertility and water retention as well as helping to mitigate climate change. Initial trials have shown that using biochar reduces the need for mineral fertilisers by 23% with no loss of yield.
Therefore, the project is supporting the UK agriculture sector’s progress towards net zero, while providing the opportunity to boost farm incomes – through lower-cost fertilisers and potentially the sale of the carbon benefits as credits. By testing the use of biochar at farm scale, the researchers aim to demonstrate its effectiveness in order to improve farmers’ confidence in applying it as a fertiliser to fields.
Dr Niall McNamara of UKCEH, who is involved in the BioBLEND project, said: “It is crucial that we identify new innovations that can sustain crop yields while reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture. Through our work with biochar, we aim to demonstrate its potential to reduce nitrogen use in cereal cropping systems and, in doing so, help mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions associated with traditional nitrogen fertiliser use.”