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UID:pretalx-soil-health-now-2025-QL9BBG@pretalx.earthmonitor.org
DTSTART:20250408T140000Z
DTEND:20250408T141500Z
DESCRIPTION:The Waste4Soil project is focused on developing sustainable\, c
 ost-effective fertilizing products from recycled biowastes sourced from lo
 cal food industries. By recycling food processing residues (FPR) into soil
  improvers (SI)\, Waste4Soil aims to reduce environmental impacts while en
 hancing food security across Europe. The project’s main objective is to 
 create viable pathways for recycling biowastes within a circular\, regiona
 l\, and systemic framework that involves all actors in the food chain\, th
 us closing essential nutrient\, organic matter\, and water loops.\nThe Was
 te4Soil approach is implemented through Living Labs (LL) established in se
 ven EU countries: Hungary\, Finland\, Spain\, Greece\, Italy\, Poland\, an
 d Slovenia. These LLs facilitate experimentation in real-life settings\, e
 ngaging key stakeholders—such as food industry representatives\, waste m
 anagers\, fertilizer manufacturers\, commercial farms\, and citizens—in 
 collaborative activities that emphasize “show me” and “ready for pra
 ctice” demonstrations of best practices. Through this co-creative approa
 ch\, LLs aim to provide practical examples of sustainable waste-to-fertili
 zer applications that are regionally adaptable and environmentally benefic
 ial.\nCentral to achieving Waste4Soil’s goals is the active involvement 
 of diverse stakeholders at every stage of the project. From co-creating so
 lutions to participating in planning\, demonstrations\, dissemination\, an
 d further demonstration phases\, each actor plays a critical role. The pro
 ject promotes ecosystem-based collaboration among farmers and their networ
 ks\, food industries\, waste management companies\, fertilizer producers\,
  research and educational institutions\, local and regional authorities\, 
 and civil society. By fostering these collaborations\, Waste4Soil aims to 
 develop ecosystem solutions that improve FPR management practices\, making
  soil improvers economically viable\, environmentally sustainable\, and so
 cially acceptable\, thereby advancing the circular economy in agriculture.
DTSTAMP:20260807T104840Z
LOCATION:HugoTECH
SUMMARY:Advancing circular agriculture: The Waste4Soil Project for sustaina
 ble fertilizer development from food processing residues. - Vera Proskynit
 opoulou
URL:https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2025/talk/QL9BBG/
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UID:pretalx-soil-health-now-2025-C8YECK@pretalx.earthmonitor.org
DTSTART:20250408T180500Z
DTEND:20250408T180900Z
DESCRIPTION:More than 90% of soils in Europe have been declared unhealthy\,
  largely as a result of injudicious use of synthetic fertilizers and overe
 xploitation of soil. This calls for an increased use of more sustainable t
 ypes of fertilizers and soil amenders rich in carbon. \nThe Anaerobic dige
 stion (AD)\, a process that is used to produce renewable energy with low C
 O2 footprint\, can produce a valuable by-product\, the digestate\, that is
  used in agricultural activities as a soil improver or for fertilization o
 f the fields.  The digestate is actually the by-product of the valorizatio
 n of waste materials. A wide variety of organic wastes-manure\, food proce
 ssing residues\, municipal solid waste\, and agricultural residues\, are u
 sed in AD plants and the produced digestate is returned back to the fields
 \, closing the loop in a circular economy approach.\nHowever\, it has been
  identified that the direct application of digestate is associated to seve
 ral environmental issues. It is therefore required that the digestate is p
 re-processed in order that the nutrients\, the carbon and water can be rec
 overed and efficiently utilized\, while potential pollutants are removed a
 nd not released to the environment\,  optimizing in this way the products
 ’ composition according to particular agricultural needs with the adopti
 on of an adequate separation system.\nThis work executes a Life Cycle Asse
 ssment on a membrane-based treatment process including a solid-liquid sepa
 ration system with a screw press\, microfiltration (MF)\, and ultrafiltrat
 ion (UF) to produce a phosphorus- and potassium-rich soil amender and a Se
 lective ElectroDialysis unit (SED) for nutrient recovery to produce fertil
 izers such as ammonium sulfate and struvite. Furthermore\, reverse osmosis
  (RO) is applied for the recovery of clean water. \nThe environmental impa
 cts that were considered and studied\, were the greenhouse gas emissions\,
  terrestrial acidification and eutrophication\, ecotoxicity in freshwater\
 , and marine environments\, using input from experimental testing in the p
 ilot scale and in real environment. The results showed that an integrated 
 approach could achieve significant environmental improvements and enhance 
 soil health\, compared to conventional applications.
DTSTAMP:20260807T104840Z
LOCATION:W - Invite
SUMMARY:Integrated Membrane-Based Treatment of Digestate for Soil Amender P
 roduction: A Life Cycle Assessment Approach. - Vera Proskynitopoulou
URL:https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2025/talk/C8YECK/
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