Transforming waste, waste of the food industry and volcanic ashes into natural fertilizers: it is the ambitious challenge of the European project LANDFEEDPresented by Enea on the occasion of Ecomed, the fair dedicated to environmental technologies and sustainable energy
Landfeed: precious nutrients from waste
At the base of the project there is a simple idea: to recover the nutrients still present in the waste and agricultural and industrial by -products to give life to the ground in a sustainable way. The goal is twofold: on the one hand, reduce the waste and the amount of waste to be disposed of; on the other, offer a local alternative and circular to chemical fertilizers, often imported and impactful.
As Antonella Luciano, researcher Enea and referent of the project explains, LANDFEED It will contribute to food safety and environmental protection through concrete solutions for more sustainable agriculture. Among these, a digital platform for industrial symbiosis, which will facilitate the exchange of by -products between companies, optimizing the use of resources and promoting the collaboration between different production sectors.
A traceable and innovative chain with Landfeed
The project also focuses on the traceability of the products, through a “Digital passport” For biological fertilizers, which will allow to follow each phase of the supply chain, from the recovery of raw materials to their use in the fields. In this way, it will be possible to guarantee transparency and safety, enhancing each passage in a sustainable key.
Alongside the recovery of nutrients, Landfeed will also develop new generation coatings based on chitosan and microalgae, capable of improving the effectiveness of fertilizers through a controlled release. A technology that aims to optimize agricultural yields, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preserve water resources, contributing to the well -being of the soil and its biodiversity.
The study case in Sicily: between oranges and Etna lava
Among the five cases European study provided by the project, one of the most significant will take place in Sicily, conducted by the University of Catania with the support of AENEAS. Here a mix of local waste will be experimented: sludge from purification plants, residues of the breeding of fish, microalgae crops, agricultural digestate, pitornal cums processing and even the volcanic ash of Etna, a natural resource rich in minerals useful to the ground.
All these elements will be treated with sustainable technologies and transformed into high efficiency biofertilizers, reducing the environmental impact and creating value starting from what would normally be considered a waste.
Against waste, for the environment
Europe produces almost 60 million tons of food waste every year. Reductioning these numbers is a priority, also to hit the objectives of theAgenda 2030which provides for the halving of waste by the end of the decade. Landfeed fits into this context with a concrete, circular and innovative proposal.