Kontext

In recent years the livestock population has significantly increased in Catalonia, while the useful agricultural surface area has decreased. Therefore, in high-density livestock areas it is necessary to develop and implement technologies that enable excess livestock excrement that cannot be safely used as fertiliser to be reused.
An option for the use of this excrement is the application of the biodrying process for energy recovery. Biodrying as applied in the livestock industry is an innovative process that yields a biofuel (LHV > 2,500–3,500 kcal/kg) that can be used in conventional biomass boilers. Biodrying is similar to composting, but its final objective is different. While the aim of composting is to maximise the stability of organic waste through the mineralisation of organic carbon, that of biodrying is to use the metabolic heat produced by the biological activity to remove water from the waste matrix in the shortest time possible, minimising the degradation of carbon and preserving the majority of the heat value of the matrix. La Fageda Foundation in conjunction with the BETA Technology Centre will carry out the first pilot test on a semi-industrial scale to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of the biodrying and energy recovery process in situ in a biomass boiler, contributing to the implementation of circular economy strategies at Fageda’s premises.