Water-soluble fertiliser for food crops derived from biogas digestate

采用无土解决方案种植粮食作物的现代农场为生菜和菠菜等绿叶蔬菜提供了宝贵和可持续的来源。与在土壤中种植作物的传统农业系统不同，现代农场完全依赖于使用合成肥料来提供植物生长所必需的营养。合成肥料的采购已迅速成为一个经济和环境问题。合成肥料的生产占全球能源使用量的1-2%，其价格很容易大幅上涨。例如，自俄乌冲突开始以来，英国化肥价格在过去12个月里上涨了139%。我们的公司，未来绿色，专注于在无土系统中可持续种植绿叶绿色粮食作物。作为上述问题的解决方案，本项目旨在开发一种将厌氧消化（AD）产生的废物转化为适合粮食作物的高质量水溶性肥料的工艺。AD有双重好处，它可以为我们公司的能源需求做出贡献，减少我们对环境的影响。为了实现这一目标，我们公司与谢菲尔德大学生物科学与工程学院的研究人员合作，他们分别是微生物磷循环和厌氧消化器设计方面的专家。我们的创新理念的成功开发将为英国农业提供一种低成本、低碳的合成肥料替代品，同时为AD工厂带来额外收入，为英国的循环磷经济目标做出贡献，并在英国食品工业中建立弹性。

Modern farms that grow food crops in soil-free solutions present a valuable and sustainable source of leafy greens, such as lettuce and spinach. Unlike traditional farming systems that grow crops in soil, modern farms are totally reliant on the application of synthetic fertilisers to supply nutrients essential for plant growth.The sourcing of synthetic fertiliser has fast become an economic and environmental concern. The production of synthetic fertiliser is responsible for 1-2% of global energy use and its prices are susceptible to large increases. For example, since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, British fertiliser prices have increased by 139% in the last 12 months.Our company, Future Greens, specialises in sustainably growing leafy green food crops in a soil-free system. As a solution to the aforementioned problems, this project aims to develop a process for converting waste produced from anaerobic digestion (AD) into a high-quality water-soluble fertiliser suitable for food crops. AD has the double benefit that it can contribute towards our company's energy demands, reducing our environmental impact.To achieve this aim, our company has teamed up with researchers at The University of Sheffield in Biosciences and Engineering, who are experts in microbial phosphorus cycling and anaerobic digester design, respectively.Successful development of our innovative idea would provide a cost-effective, low-carbon alternative to synthetic fertiliser for UK's farming industry while unlocking additional revenue for AD plants, contributing towards the UK's goal of a circular phosphorus economy, and building resilience in the UK food industry.