Biogas meets scarcity of fertiliser for organic production
An increasing demand for organic products in domestic and foreign markets is challenged by a scarcity of approved fertilisers for certified organic vegetable production. Organic biogas helps fill out the gap.
Biogas is made from degradable waste, garbage, and by-products from private households, industry and agriculture. But the biogas production has more functions than merely being a renewable energy source based on a range of sources of waste in society.
Extending the value chain
The by-product – leftovers from the degassing process at the biogas plants – are used as a green fertiliser in agriculture. This way, the biogas production extends the existing value chains in which slurry from animal husbandry is mixed with other degradable matter, degassed for energy production, and then returned to the farms as a fertiliser far more effective than its untreated original.
Slurry from animal husbandry is mixed with other degradable matter, degassed for energy production, and then returned to the farms as a fertiliser far more effective than its untreated original
First organic biogas
This is a very welcome by-product, especially for organic vegetable production which is facing a scarcity of approved organic fertilisers. To help fill out this gap, Nature Energy (now Shell Biogas) and Axel Månsson established in 2018 Denmark’s first and largest organic biogas plant with gas for the natural gas grid. The plant produces green gas while also providing valuable fertiliser for organic vegetable fields.
By using organic waste streams in biogas production, the solution supports a circular approach to agriculture. Degassed biomass can be returned to local organic vegetable production, helping to address the shortage of approved fertilisers for organic farming while making better use of resources already present in the value chain.
The case demonstrates how biogas can contribute to renewable energy production, circular resource use and the future development of organic agriculture.
