Press Release: ITA Hosts the 1st Partner Meeting for the ManuREfinery Project on Sustainable Livestock Waste Management
Zaragoza, Spain – September 24-25, 2024 – The Aragón Institute of Technology (ITA) hosted the first partner meeting of the European project ManuREfinery, which aims to revolutionize the sustainable management of livestock waste. With a total budget of €9 million, ITA coordinates this initiative involving 23 partners. The ManuREfinery project focuses on developing a modular, mobile, and sustainable biorefinery system to maximize resource and nutrient recovery from livestock manure. By transforming waste into fertilizers and valuable bioingredients for animal feed, this initiative will provide a new, sustainable approach to waste management.
Kick-off Meeting Marks Start of Revolutionary Actions
This inaugural meeting in Zaragoza set the stage for actions that will unfold through the project's end in August 2028. Livestock farming is a cornerstone of rural economies across Europe but poses significant environmental challenges, including air pollution, excess nutrient runoff leading to eutrophication, and contributions to climate change. Each year, Europe produces over 1.4 billion tons of manure, with cattle accounting for 75% and pigs and poultry each contributing 12%.
Despite previous efforts, the current approach to manure management, including its use as fertilizer, still leads to substantial pollution. Along with ammonia emissions, these challenges represent significant environmental and economic hurdles. The ManuREfinery project aims to tackle these issues by delivering economic, environmental, and social benefits. It is expected to create 5,000 new skilled jobs and 15,000 unskilled jobs across Europe, directly impacting over 2,500 livestock farms involved in the project.
Innovative Technologies and Digital Twins
Pablo González and José Ramón Valdés from ITA will lead the efforts in developing digital twins and applying data science to improve the processes involved in manure conversion. ManuREfinery combines advanced manure conversion units with the use of digital twins and data analytics to enhance decision-making and optimize conversion processes. This includes assessing the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of these solutions while engaging the livestock sector and developing new business models to diversify farmers’ incomes.
ITA will develop the digital twin for the biorefinery system, helping design unit equipment, optimize system configurations, and scale the solutions across Europe. Initially, ITA will construct hybrid models based on both experimental data and constitutive equations. As the project progresses, ITA will build integrated models for each conversion line and a comprehensive digital twin for the entire ManuREfinery system.
Economic and Environmental Impacts
The ManuREfinery project is set to deliver significant benefits:
- Economic gains: Over €350 million in new income for primary producers annually.
- Environmental savings: More than 85% reduction in harmful emissions.
- Job creation: 5,000 skilled jobs and 15,000 unskilled jobs in rural areas.
- Replication potential: The project targets over 2,500 livestock farms across Europe in the medium term.
The Fluid Dynamics Technology Group (TFD) from the University of Zaragoza led two key sessions during the kick-off meeting, focusing on the project's digital twin strategy and coordinating the gas treatment line. TFD’s involvement includes designing and deploying the digitalization strategy, ensuring seamless integration of data and knowledge, and facilitating rapid technological transfer from R&D groups to companies that design and operate these technologies.
About ManuREfinery
The ManuREfinery project is part of the public-private partnership within the European Circular Bio-Based Europe Joint Undertaking, under the Horizon Europe Framework Program. It will be implemented over four years, from September 2024 to August 2028. The project aims to achieve zero-waste outcomes by maximizing resource and nutrient recovery for feed and fertilizer bioingredients, especially in rural areas.
For more information, visit the official project page: ManuREfinery Project.
Find more about ManuREfinery on Social Media:
www.linkedin.com/company/manurefinery