THE solution: take surplus manure and turn it into soil improver on a large scale for export: feasible and affordable"!

Introduction
About 10 years ago (well before the big farmers' protests), the idea of solving the Dutch manure surplus problem arose.
The Dutch manure surplus is currently about 20 million tonnes/year.
The Netherlands is the world's second-largest food exporter: export €123.8 billion in 2023.
This (slurry) manure can be converted into (hygienised) soil structure improver to restore agricultural soils depleted by overexploitation worldwide.
Outside North and Northwest Europe, USA/Canada, South Korea and Japan, basically all agricultural soils are depleted by overexploitation.

Plan (European and/or Global Cycle Closure)
Our Plan includes the following elements:

  1. Large-scale intake of manure at transhipment points on waterways and transport by barge to Terneuzen; (in the Netherlands, Flanders and the border region with Germany, there is a network of canals, and there is a transhipment point within 25 km from each farm, transport from farm to transhipment point by contract workers)
  2. Large-scale conversion into soil improver by sustainable biological drying in series of parallel treatment lines in Terneuzen;
  3. Export by ocean vessel to areas with depleted soils.

By-catch
As we dispose of the manure surplus and require farmers to take barn measures to reduce ammonia emissions, we 'en passant' solve the National Nitrogen Surplus Problem.
A healthy soil ensures substantially higher crop production, and retains water and fertilisers better (no/nearly no leaching of fertilisers to ground or surface water).
Moreover, a healthy crop on a healthy soil is more resistant to all kinds of diseases, and significantly less pesticides/herbicides/fungicides, etc. are needed.

Costs/yields
Because we do it on a large scale and choose relatively cheap transport by ship, we keep costs relatively low;

  • Disposal fee for our farmers ca. € 20/tonne, perfectly affordable, the alternative manure fermentation costs € 25-50/tonne (and is not affordable for most especially smaller farmers);
  • Soil conditioner (hygienised: 1 hour at 70 °C, export requirement: all pathogenic organisms are dead, all weed seeds deactivated) with fertilisers we sell for approx € 70/tonne (world market price > € 80/tonne);
  • We have found the European Investment Bank willing to set up a resolving fund to finance our Plan.

Michiel Schöller (MSc) has 40 years of experience in water and sludge treatment projects with industry and (semi)governmental organisations in the Netherlands, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia and South America. He has also carried out a number of drinking water supply projects in Asia. He specialises in sustainable and robust process designs that reduce energy and carbon footprints.
His assignments range from specialised studies and applied research to source control, evaluation, optimisation, basic and detailed process and equipment design and engineering, cost estimates, supplier selection, commissioning and troubleshooting. This covers waste and process water, water supply systems, groundwater (in soil remediation) and waste gas/smoke gas treatment plants.

Drinks will start at 18:00 and the meal will follow punctually at 19:00, after which the lecture can start at 20:00. End around 22:00.

Further information, or to register, can be obtained via: kringrotterdam@kivi.nl

Please note that a payment link to pay the participation fee for members will be sent in advance.