Twists in nutrient recycling in the EU Leo Hari and Kaisa Riiko Baltic Sea Action Group April 2016
Järki is a cooperation project between the Baltic Sea Action Group and The Nature and Game Management Trust Finland. The Finnish name Järki stands for sense and reason. The aim of the project is sensible enhancement of water protection and biodiversity in agriculture. The project is funded among others by the Louise and Göran Ehrnrooth Foundation and the Sophie von Julin Foundation. Järki Lannoite (Sensible Fertilizer) is a cooperation project between Baltic Sea Action Group and Livia College. The aim of the project is to promote the organic fertilizer sector. The project is part of the Finnish Ministry of the Environment's programme to promote the recycling of nutrients and to improve the ecological status of the Archipelago Sea. Cover page photographs Top: Ammonium washer outside a pig stall, Belgium (Kaisa Riiko) Middle: Dry fraction and dry manure treatment plant, Belgium (Kaisa Riiko) Below: Struvite recovered from sewage sludge, Germany (Sanna Tikander) Back cover: Biologically treated thin fraction in slurry storage lagoon, Belgium (Kaisa Riiko) 2
Foreword This is an English summary of report Ravinnekierrätyksen eurokiemuroita published by the Järki Lannoite project. The report compiles nutrient cycling related statistics and regulation from the EU-level. It also looks at processing and markets for recycled nutrients in the EU. In addition to the EU-level, there are also seven country cases that are looked at more thoroughly. This summary includes key findings from those countries regarding manure, fertilizing and nutrient cycling legislation. The case countries are the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. In the field of nutrient cycling, changes are ongoing on many levels. The European Commission released a draft on fertilizer regulation in March 2016. At the same time, the national fertilizing legislation seems to be tightening in Germany, whereas in Denmark there are plans to loosen up the overall strict fertilizing limits and move more to a emission based regulation system and reduce fertilisation specially on leaching prone land. We will continue to follow the rapid developments of the field. There are major differences between EU countries in the use and share of different nutrient flows. Intensity and structure of animal production also vary between member states. Major regional differences within countries also exist. In many countries there are areas where more manure is produced than can be used locally in a sustainable way. On the other hand, in EU there are also areas where more phosphorus would be needed. Many EU legislations affect nutrient cycling. These regulations are nationally implemented in very different ways, leading to different kinds of solutions and organic fertilizer markets. Many countries also have additional national legislation related to nutrient cycling. There are national differences in the implementation of the nitrate directive, fertilizing limits, manure processing legislation, legislation related to sewage sludge use in agriculture and also legislation related to environmental permits. For example in intensive pig and poultry production the required BAT-technologies vary from country to country. Information presented in this publication has been collected from diverse sources as well as from interviews. The goal has been to compile a picture of EU s nutrient cycling or at least provide an overview of the tools used on a European scale. The complete report with a list of sources and interviews can be downloaded from http://jarki.fi/fi/ulkomaan-esimerkkeja 3
Nutrients in the EU Nutrient use in agriculture The most important nitrogen flows to agriculture are mineral fertilizers 10.9 Mt (megatons / million tons), feed concentrates produced within or imported to the EU (2.7 Mt), and nitrogen atmospheric deposition and biological fixation which total at 3.1 Mt. The most important phosphorus flow to the EU is the import of mineral phosphorus amounting to 2.4 Mt. EU s total phosphorus balance the difference between phosphorus import and export is 2.1 Mt. Out of this annual phosphorus surplus about half is accumulated in the agricultural soil and 1.2 Mt ended up outside the circulation. The EU s largest nutrient cycling potential is in manure. The manure is already mainly returned to use as fertilizer but the problem is its uneven distribution and weak utilizing level. Also more effective recycling of phosphorus from sewage sludge, biowaste and meat and bone meal would be possible. Table 1. EU nutrient recycling potential, total amounts and average amounts per year on agricultural land in the EU if spread evenly. For comparison, mineral fertilizer amounts. N total N average P total P average Mt kg/ha/y Mt kg/ha/y Manure 7-9 40 51 1.8 10.2 Biowaste 0.5 0.7 2.8 4 0.1 0.6 Slaughterhouse waste?? 0.3 1.7 Sewage 2.3 3.1 13-18 0.3 1.7 Mineral fertiliser 10.9 62.0 1.4 8.0 The use of mineral fertilizer nitrogen was at its highest levels in early 1980s when more than 15 Mt were used. Mineral phosphorus use was highest in 1970s and 1980s when a little short of 4 Mt was used in EU. Both the use of both mineral nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer has decreased. The nutrient amount in manure has been somewhat constant. There are major differences between member states in the use of nutrients as well as in nutrient surpluses. The old EU countries (EU-15) use by average more nitrogen and phosphorus compared to the new EU-countries (EU-13). 4
EU nutrient regulation Nutrient recycling, processing and use in the EU are influenced by EU regulation and how it's nationally implemented. Many countries also have additional national regulation. Often the EU regulations' impact to nutrient cycling is indirect and is the end result of several EU and national regulations' joint impact. Several EU directives aim at preserving good water quality. These include for example Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Directive which aim to create good ecological status of waters by, for example, protecting waters from excess nutrients. Groundwater Directive and Nitrates Directive set maximum nitrate limits. The Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive sets minimum phosphorus and nitrogen removal from waste water. The nitrogen emissions from agriculture are controlled by the Nitrates Directive. Nitrates Directive limits the manure nitrogen (also in processed form) application to agricultural land to a maximum of 170 kg/hectare in nitrate vulnerable zones. Nitrates directive's limits only apply to spreading on agricultural land. The Nitrates Directive does not directly include phosphorus limiting regulations. Indirectly nitrates directive limits also manure phosphorus. Manure contains both nitrogen and phosphorus so limiting nitrogen also limits phosphorus to certain level defined by amount of its nitrogen. Key requirements of nitrates directive are defining nitrates vulnerable zones, manure storage capacity requirements and manure and fertilizer spreading limitations. The Nitrates Directive leaves countries room for national implementation. For example, manure spreading times and storage capacity requirements vary between countries. Some countries have asked and been granted an exemption (derogation) from the nitrates directive's obligations. They have been granted a right to add more than limited 170 kg N of manure nitrogen under specific time period and conditions defined in the derogation decision. The so-called Sewage Sludge Directive defines the limits for heavy metals contained in sewage sludge used in agriculture. Many countries have nationally set stricter limits. Some countries also have national limits for pathogens and organic pollutants. The Organic Farming Regulation bans the use of mineral nitrogen fertilizers in organic farming. For this reason, organic farms use proportionally more manure or organic fertilizers Of EU ammonia emissions, 94 % originate from agriculture and 71 % of this is from manure. The National Emission Ceilings Directive sets country specific ceilings for ammonia emissions. This means that most countries have to decrease ammonia emissions. Industrial Emissions Directive defines industries that require an environmental permit. An environmental permit is required for intensive rearing of poultry and pigs if there are more than 40 000 places for poultry, 2000 places for production pigs (over 30 kg) or more than 750 sows. The requirement can be set to a lower level nationally. Also the principle on use of the best available technology (BAT) is part of the directive. The national implementation of BAT has important implications on what kind of technologies are required from large poultry and pig farms. This also affects treatment of manure. By-product regulation regulates how different kind of animal by-products that are not intended for human consumption can be used. Those are for example manure, slaughterhouse waste, feathers etc. The aim is to decrease risks for human and animal health. Use of meat and bone-meal is not allowed as feed in the EU and needs to be processed to e.g. fertilizer under specific conditions. The most hazardous class 1 material cannot be used as fertilizer raw material. Manure-based fertilizer needs to be heated to 70 degrees for an hour. 5
Nutrient processing and markets In 2011, 8 % of manure produced in the EU was processed. The most common treatment technologies were anaerobic treatment (6.4 % of manure) and different kind of separations (3.1 %). Liquid fraction treatment compromised 0.7 % of manure and treatment of solid fraction 0.8 %. Parts of manure can go through several processing phases. The organic fertilizer market is somewhat underdeveloped and often policy has more impact than the demand for products on the market. Countries influence markets by limiting the use of nutrients on agricultural land, by other requirements like obligatory manure processing, and by supporting e.g. biogas and incineration of organic material or by reforming fertilizer regulation and taxation. Especially in relation to sewage sludge based fertilizers, the concern regarding heavy metals, contaminants or medicine traces can lead in some countries to situation where they are not widely used in agriculture, particularly if there is a surplus of manure at the same time. According to UN Comtrade the EU s exports of organic fertilizer are significantly higher than imports. Based on value of trade, the most important countries to export are countries in the Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam. The EU exports organic fertilizers to more than 100 countries. Measured by kilos the three most important exporting countries are the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. The trade value of Italy's exports is higher and it exports especially to the Southeast Asia. Yet more organic fertilizer trade is within Europe than from EU to external countries. Following Eurostat charts provide more information on nutrient use and surpluses in the EU. Figure 1. Share of different phosphorus inputs (average 2009-2012) 6
Figure 2. Nitrogen input, output and balance, kg/ha, EU 15 year 2011 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 EU-15 Nitrogen input, output and balance, kg/ha Nitrogen input Nitrogen output Nitrogen balance Figure 3. Nitrogen input, output and balance, kg/ha, EU 13 year 2011 300 EU-13 Nitrogen input, output and balance, kg/ha 250 200 150 100 50 0-50 EU 28 EU 13 Cyprus Malta Czech Croatia Slovenia Poland Hungary Estonia Slovakia Lithuania Latvia Bulgaria Romania Republic Nitrogen input Nitrogen output Nitrogen balance 7
Figure 4. Phosphorus input, output and balance, kg/ha, EU 15 year 2011 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0-5 -10 EU-15 Phosphorus input, output and balance, kg/ha Phosphorus input Phosphorus output Phosphorus balance Figure 5. Phosphorus input, output and balance, kg/ha, EU 13 year 2011 50 EU-13 Phosphorus input, output and balance, kg/ha 40 30 20 10 0-10 -20 Phosphorus input Phosphorus output Phosphorus balance 8
A review of some country cases Netherlands Around 10 % of the EU s large poultry and pig farms are located in the Netherlands. The Netherlands is the world s second largest exporter of agricultural products. This has led to a nutrient surplus and the need to export manure. The Netherlands has implemented nutrient processing legislation, which means that every farmer has an obligation to process part of the manure nutrient surplus of the farm. In 2016 the processing requirement was 55 % in the south, 35 % in the east and 10 % in other areas. In practice this means that manure under the processing obligation needs to be exported, incinerated or gasified to dry matter content of 10 %, or processed to granules with dry matter content of more than 90 %. In 2010 the manure disposal cost for farmers was 17 /m3 for poultry manure, 14 /m3 pig manure and 7 /m3 for cattle manure. The disposal cost varies during the year and can also be higher. The Commission has granted the Netherlands a derogation on the nitrates directive until the end of 2017. The exception means that cattle farms can apply 230 kg/ha or 250 kg/ha of nitrogen instead of 170 kg under specific conditions. These conditions for example prohibit the use of chemical phosphorus fertilizer and require 80 % of derogation farms area to be grassland. The heavy metal limits for use of sewage sludge in agriculture are very strict in the Netherlands. Almost all sewage sludge is incinerated and the ashes will in the future be exported for processing to Ecophos France. About a third of Netherlands poultry manure is incinerated at BMC Moerdijk. Struvite recovery at Amsterdam West sewage treatment is one of the key development projects in the sector. Reverse osmosis is used in Netherlands as a manure processing technology to some extent. In the process, pig slurry is processed to very low nutrient content liquid and nitrogen rich concentrate. The reverse osmosis has been piloted and the political aim is to get mineral concentrate approved in EU as mineral fertilizer so that the 170 kg N/hectare limit of nitrates directive wouldn't apply. Belgium Animal production is central to agriculture in Belgium. Around 90 % of large-scale pig or poultry animal production is concentrated to the Flemish-speaking Flanders region in the north. This leads to a significant nutrient surplus in the northern part of Belgium, and the need to export manure to other areas in Belgium or other countries. The manure is exported especially to France but also to Germany and Netherlands. Wallonia, the French speaking part of Belgium, has practically banned the import of manure. Belgium has been granted a derogation from the nitrates directive. This derogation decision allows farmers to apply 250 kg N/hectare of manure instead of 170 kg N/hectare. This requires applying for a derogation and complying with specific terms. The derogation applies to cattle manure and under special conditions also liquid fraction separated from pig slurry. The manure processing legislation demands 0.6 % per 1000 kg of manure nitrogen surplus to be processed. This requirement is augmented by 10, 20 or 30 %, depending on the nitrogen pressure of the area. Maximum processing requirement is 60 %. The processing means exporting of manure, use of it outside agriculture, transforming manure nitrogen to nitrogen gas or creating mineral fertilizers. Anaerobic treatment as such is not regarded as manure treatment. Farmers pay around 15 /m3 as processing fee (transport not included) for taking the slurry to the processing plants, where slurry is separated and nitrogen from the liquid fraction is converted to nitrogen gas. The thick fraction from separated slurry is then treated in composting plants. Composting plants treat pre-dried poultry manure for free or even pay couple of euros per m3. The cost of taking separated dry fraction to a composting plant is 20 /m3. 9
At the moment largest number of processing plants in Flanders are nitrification-denitrification plants which convert manure nitrogen to nitrogen gas and low nitrogen effluent. Compost production, pelletizing and ammonia stripping also take place. Environmental permit requirements support production of ammonium sulphate by using acid washers. This product is e.g. used as fertilizer or exported to Netherlands for fertilizer production. Ammonium sulphate is not considered manure under the nitrates directive in Belgium. Germany In Germany there is a significant number of large animal farms. The area with highest animal density and pressure to water bodies is in the north-west (e.g. North-Saxony), where the import of manure from Belgium and Netherlands also increase the nutrient pressure in the border region. The whole country is designated as nitrates vulnerable zone and currently 170 kg N/hectare limit applies to the whole country. Germany is Europe's leader in the number of anaerobic digesters. In 2011 80 % of farm-size anaerobic digesters in the EU were situated in Germany. Digestate from biogas plants hasn't been accounted for in the nitrates directive s 170 kg N/ha limit except if the input has been manure. In the future also plantbased digestate inputs are counted in the 170 kg N/ha limit. Germany has also fertilizing limits that are based on nutrient balance calculations. From 2018 the phosphorus surplus limit will be lowered from 20 to 10 kg P205/ha (from 9 to 4.5 kg/p/ha). The nitrogen surplus limit is 60 kg/ha/year on average during a three-year period. In 2012 almost 30 % of sewage sludge was utilized in agriculture. From 2017 the agricultural use of sewage sludge treated with synthetic polymers will be banned. Also a revision of the sewage sludge ordinance in under negotiation, according to which after 2025 the agricultural utilization of sewage sludge will be banned totally, and phosphorus recovery from waste water, sewage sludge and ashes willl be mandatory. In that case, after 2025 only small waste water plants (population under 10 000 people) could continue the agricultural use of sewage sludge. The recycled phosphorus of large waste water treatment plants meets strong competition from other recycled fertilizers and organic fertilizers from animal production. Italy Around 10 % of EU s large pig and poultry farms are located in Italy. The animal production is concentrated in the northern parts of the country, especially regions of Lombardy, Venetto and Emilia-Romano. During years 2012 2015 there has been a derogation decision in place which allows 240 kg N/hectare in specific regions in northern Italy. The derogation has applied to cattle manure as well as liquid fraction of separated pig slurry with N/P205 ratio of 2.5 (meaning N/P ratio of 5.5). In 2011, Italy processed 37 % of manure and 24 % was separated. Italy hosted 80 % of all the farm-size separators in EU. Italy ranks second after Germany in the number of anaerobic digesters. The Italy is net exporter of organic fertilizers with some established export-oriented companies. Significant amounts of fertilizers go to the Southeast Asia. 10
Denmark A prominent feature of Danish agriculture is large-scale pig farming. Pig meat production is significant for both the Danish economy and especially to the agricultural sector. Around 90 % of the meat goes to export. Despite significant decrease in the use of artificial nitrogen fertilizer, the nitrogen surplus is still above EU-average. Also the utilization of nitrogen in manure has become more effective. This has been achieved by strict time limits for manure spreading, use of advanced manure spreading technologies and strict nitrogen fertilizing limits. The focus of the policy has been on the effective use of nitrogen. Limitation of manure phosphorus is indirect through the limitations on manure nitrogen. Currently around half of the sewage sludge is used in agriculture. One example of technology development in Denmark is the use of acidification technologies. The acidification of manure lowers ammonia emissions and improves nitrogen utilization and crop yields. There is also a continuously developed system for defining nutrient amounts in different kinds of manure as well a BAT-technology list. Animal housing related clean-tech is also being exported. Sweden From the countries included in this survey, Sweden and Italy are the only countries with negative phosphorus balance in 2011. Nutrient balance calculations are not compulsory in Sweden but are supported through government funded advisory program Greppa Näringen. For phosphorus application there is a general limit of 22 kg P/hectare. KRAV-certification, the organic farming label popular in Sweden has detailed criteria on fertilizers used in KRAV-production. These criteria put more emphasis on animal welfare than those in traditional organic farming. They limit e.g. use of some animal by-products and also manure from specific types of intensive animal production. Sweden s biogas policy stresses use of transport biogas. More than 50 % of biogas is used in transport and the rest mainly in heat production. 15 % of sewage sludge goes to agricultural use. Finland There are significant differences in nutrient use and balances between different parts of Finland. Especially the north-west coast and region of Pohjanmaa have a high number of animals. In these areas regional nutrient balances are significantly higher than in the rest of the country. The whole Finnish territory is designated as nitrate vulnerable zone. The national fertilizer regulation has limits to phosphorus. Analyzed water, or ammoniumsitrate soluble phosphorus shouldn't exceed 350 kg to hectare in agriculture and 575 kg in horticulture under 5 years using period. Less than 5 % of sewage sludge goes to agricultural use. Very high number of farmers are committed to the agri-environmental scheme in Finland. In the program there are limits for the use of both phosphorus and nitrogen. Phosphorus balances have decreased significantly since highest years. If the manure phosphorus would be used according to plant needs, there would be enough manure phosphorus to supply the whole country. 11