VIDEO: "LIFECAB: Soluble Biological Substances (SBOs) from compost"

LIFECAB is a research and development project (cofunded by the EU LIFE programme - LIFE 16 ENV / IT / 000179), which has demonstrated in real operating conditions a new process to treat municipal bio-waste more efficiently and sustainably, in a circular economy perspective.

Within the project HYSYTECH has developed and produced a technology that allows the recovery of soluble biological substances (SBOs), thanks to the chemical hydrolysis of the compost. SBOs are effective as chemical auxiliaries for various applications.

In LIFECAB, SBOs are used as auxiliar feeding in the anaerobic digestion process to reduce ammonia (NH3) content in the digestate. The effect was confirmed thanks to test campaigns performed on industrial digesters that validated the ability of SBOs to promote the oxidation of ammonia to N2.

In addition, providing an important environmental contribution by giving greater added value to the compost, this process also reduces the cost necessary for reducing the NH3 content in the digestate, with the important effect of replacing part of the chemical reagents with a renewable one.

SBOs can be also used as biostimulants for potential uses in chemical industry, agricolture and animal husbandry.