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BIONÆR-Bionæringsprogram

Forum for circular economy solutions in Norwegian wastewater management

Alternative title: Forum for sirkulær økonomi innen norsk avløpssektor

Awarded: NOK 1.00 mill.

Mineral sources of plant nutrients such as phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sulfur (S) and zinc (Zn) of commercial value, are limited. Nitrogen fertilizers are currently produced using natural gas, which will run out in the foreseeable future. The result is that fertilizer prices rise. In order to produce sufficient fertilizer to be able to maintain and increase future agricultural production, the recycling of nutrients from organic sources is necessary. It is also expected that there will be requirements for the recycling of nutrients in EU's new waste water directive and both the EU and our own government have goals for a green shift and circular solutions. To date, only small amounts of P from wastewater are recycled. This is due to P precipitated with iron or aluminum-based coagulants, which is is used at most treatment plants, has a limited fertilizer value because the phosphorus is tightly bound and not readily available to plants. New processes are being developed where P, but also N and K as well as micronutrients can be recycled in a plant-available form. Several waste water companies in Norway are developing or want to adopt new technology to reuse these resources in a safe way. The inter-municipal treatment plant, HIAS, in Hamar has developed a process that traps phosphorus as struvite (magnesium-ammonium-phosphate). Struvite is an excellent slow-release fertilizer and is certified for use in conventional agriculture in the EU. Certification for use in organic agriculture is underway. The struvite process at HIAS will be fully implemented in the spring of 2023. It will reduce the footprint of the treatment plant without increasing energy use. The HIAS process, which is the world´s first of its kind, has been important to communicate through the seminars in this project. Several Norwegian treatment plants are considering to adopt the process. The University of Life Sciences (NMBU), together with the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy (Nibio), has long been a leader in Norway in research and development of decentralized solutions based on the reuse of resources from wastewater. These solutions, which are based on source separation of sewage, can recycle all plant-available nutrients in waste water and organic household waste. The solutions can complement today's large central solutions and facilitate a greater spread of circular solutions. It appears that the use of such decentralized solutions can contribute to more affordable overall solutions. This was communicated at a seminar in this project on March 3. 2022. Funds from this project have contributed to research into biochar. Biochar is a good soil conditioner that also binds carbon. In addition, biochar can be used to remove organic micropollutants in the production of organically based fertilizer products. A main goal of this project has been information. A circular path has been developed at Capus Ås. A number of seminars for the Norwegian wastewater industry; to inform, inspire and exchange experiences about circular solutions have been arranged. The large number of participants has shown that the theme has engaged the wastewater industry.

The planned seminars were disturbed by the Covid pandemic. The National workshop was cancelled and will be held in May 2023. The other proposed seminars have been conducted. Three seminars were conducted in collaboration with the Norwegian Water Association (NWA). In this way, most actors within the Norwegian water environment were invited. All seminars were well attended and the two hybrid seminars had over 250 participants. This shows great interest in the topic and good spread of the information to the Norwegian wastewater community. The information from the seminars is available on the CIRWASTE website (https://www.nmbu.no/forside/en/projects/forum-waste-water). The project has complemented the SiEUGreen project through facilitating research on biochar. Biochar poses promising properties in removing organic micropollutants from waste streams when producing organic based fertilizers. Thus filtration through biochar has potential to become part of the protocol for production of safe new waste based fertilizers. In agricultural applications biochar can act both as a storage for nutrients and as a soil conditioner that contributes to carbon sequestration. A MSc thesis dealing with how to design circular solutions when handling wastewater in rural areas have been supported by the project. This work has, generated interest in the local municipality as well as at the intermunicipal waste handling company and the treatment works in the region. A “circular path” is developed at campus Ås. The circular path is an educational path that exposes both the SiEUGreen demonstrations at Campus Ås and other green development on campus. The path is open to the general public. It is also used in education and included in programs for visitors to the campus. The project has facilitated upgrading and important maintenance of the Klosterenga greywater treatment facility that is located in Oslo municipality. For more than two decades the system has received numerous visitors from all over the world as well as yearly student excursions. In 2023 the Klosterenga system will be part of an investigation conducted by Luleå university of Sweden. The project has set focus on circular systems and lifted the knowledge an awareness of the Norwegian wastewater community. All the major treatment works have, through the conducted seminars, presented their current activity and future plans for achieving circularity to the wastewater community. I addition relevant applied research and practical examples of circular systems from Norway and Sweden, especially, has been presented. This should help accelerate towards circular solutions. Direct communication to municipalities and treatment works has informed and encouraged them to try new technologies. Important outcomes of the seminar series, where key speakers from Sweden were invited, is more interaction with Swedish actors in the field of circular waste handling (see project report).

The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) has more than 30 years of experience in the field of circular economy and how to reclaim and recycle resources from the domestic to the agricultural domain. This has materialized in the EU-project “Sino-European innovative green and smart cities - SiEUGreen” where NMBU will further refine and demonstrate circular economy in practice as support for urban and peri-urban agriculture. Today many wastewater companies in Norway, including HIAS (Hamar interkommunale avløpsselskap), VEAS (Vestfjorden avløpsselskap, Oslo), and NRA (Nedre Romerike avløpsselskap), are developing or looking for new technologies to upgrade or rebuild their systems to be able to recycle more of their resources in a safe way. SiEUGreen is demonstrating a decentralized system that will complement the existing large-scale systems at current centralized treatment plants like VEAS. The competence gathered at NMBU and practiced through SiEUGreen is valuable for both large centralized and decentralized systems. By creating a network for “Circular economy solutions in Norwegian wastewater management” we believe that we can accelerate the shift of Norwegian waste management towards circular economy. The forum will be open to all Norwegian municipalities and their waste and wastewater treatment organizations and facilitate communication and building of competence. This will happen through annual meetings, sharing of information on the web and by providing seed money for investigation of key issues raised by the practitioners.

Funding scheme:

BIONÆR-Bionæringsprogram

Thematic Areas and Topics

Verifisering, pilotering, demonstrasjon (ny fra 2014)Portefølje Energi og transportLTP3 Miljøvennlig energi og lavutslippsløsningerLTP3 Uttesting og kommersialisering av FoUBransjer og næringerNæringsmiddelindustriBransjer og næringerLandbrukLandbrukPlanterBioteknologiIndustriell bioteknologiFNs BærekraftsmålMål 6 Rent vann og gode sanitærforholdLTP3 Kultur, sivilsamfunn og medienes rolleLTP3 Muliggjørende og industrielle teknologierBioteknologiLandbruksbioteknologiLavutslippLTP3 Tillit og fellesskapLTP3 Nano-, bioteknologi og teknologikonvergensFNs BærekraftsmålMål 15 Liv på landBioteknologiMedier og kommunikasjonDelportefølje Forskning og innovasjon (forskning på)FNs BærekraftsmålMål 2 Utrydde sultFornyelse og innovasjon i offentlig sektorPortefølje Velferd og utdanningFNs BærekraftsmålMål 11 Bærekraftig byer og samfunnLandbrukJordPortefølje ForskningssystemetLTP3 Bærekraftige byregioner og transportsystemerLTP3 Et kunnskapsintensivt næringsliv i hele landetLandbrukSamfunns- og markedsperspektiver landbrukByFNs BærekraftsmålLTP3 Klima, polar og miljøBransjer og næringerMiljø - NæringsområdeKlimarelevant forskningLandbrukNaturmangfold og miljøPortefølje Muliggjørende teknologierLTP3 Innovasjon i stat og kommuneLTP3 Styrket konkurransekraft og innovasjonsevneNaturmangfold og miljøSirkulær økonomiForskning og innovasjonPolitikk- og forvaltningsområderSkog, landbruk og matBioøkonomiPolitikk- og forvaltningsområderPortefølje InnovasjonPortefølje Mat og bioressurserBioøkonomiØvrig bioøkonomiBransjer og næringerLTP3 Bioøkonomi og forvaltningLTP3 Klima, miljø og energiPortefølje Klima og miljøSirkulær økonomi