Resource harvesting from agriculture and forestry residues for CO2 storage and agricultural use

How can we handle organic waste at the Zero-Emission Farm at Mære in the most sustainable way? The main goal of the innovation project is to demonstrate the efficient harvesting of organic waste from the local agriculture and forestry sectors. The goal is to use these resources to produce valuable products while reducing climate emissions and waste streams. We aim at demonstrating a full integration of energy and resources at Mære agricultural school, to work towards a local circular economy. The project will demonstrate the possibility of turning the available waste streams into resources that can be used directly at Mære agricultural school. This will strengthen the local bioeconomy as well as reduce dependence on external products and emissions. An important part of the project is to demonstrate the production of biochar, how we can produce a biochar adapted to different areas of use, and how biochar can be used in various ways (for example, in soil, in livestock manure, for cleaning, in feed or in compost). Different conversion processes will be combined and integrated (such as biochar pyrolysis, biogas production and composting), to obtain a configuration for the most sustainable management of the organic waste at the farm. Focus of the first project year has been on the organic resources that are available; types, quantities and qualities. Preliminary assessment on the possible uses of the resources has in addition been made. Composting has also started at the school. Project partners are Mære Agricultural School (part of Trøndelag County), SINTEF Energy Research, NIBIO and NGI.

The main goal with the RESTORE project is to demonstrate a full resource and energy integration at Mære Landbruksskole (LS), working towards a local circular economy. Various types of biomass accrue in different locations at Mære LS, e.g. residues from fields and greenhouses, food waste from the canteen and other buildings, and manure from animal husbandry . These producers of biogenic waste are at the same time consumers of some other material, such as food, fodder or fertilizer. The available waste streams can potentially be exploited as a resource and directly used on-site. The loop will be closed by converting the residues into biochar-products tailored for various applications. This leads to a complex interconnectedness of residues and resources. Residues with a high moisture content will predominantly be used in the biogas reactor and turned into biomethane, which can in turn provide heat and power . Residues with a comparably low moisture content will be treated thermochemically and converted into biochar in a slow pyrolysis process. The biochar finds multiple applications on site, e.g. composting agent, fodder additive, filtration medium or fertilizer. The aim of this concept is to recover all residues and transform them into valuable products that can be used to lower greenhouse gas emissions and increase crop yield. The use of only locally available materials will strengthen the local bioeconomy as well as lower dependencies on imports and commercial products. The material routes, users and producers in this concept are highly interconnected, yet the system remains flexible. The innovation of this project lies in the - full integration of all system resources - demonstration of the versatile use of biochar from a single production unit and at a single location Moreover, the work at Mære LS will be used as a base scenario for the development of exemplary cases that are representative of other public entities or of the agricultural sector.