Title:
Biogas Digestates as Organic Fertilizer in Different Crop Rotations
Author(s):
Formowitz, B., Fritz, M.
Document(s):
Paper
Abstract:
In a nation-wide joint research project different bioenergy cropping systems are tested for their yield performance, ecological impacts and economic feasibility. Crop rotation experiments were set up in different typical agrarian regions of Germany. In one of the satellite experiments (experiment A), nutritional effects and mineral N equivalency of biogas digestates are determined. Different rates of digestates are compared with a minerally fertilized control and a treatment without any amendments. In experiment A maize is cultivated as the crop mainly used as biogas substrate and a second crop as a regional alternative to maize, e.g. ryegrass, winter triticale or sweet sorghum. The humus accumulation capacity of biogas digestates (50 % digest. + 50 % miner. N; 100 % N from digestates) will be compared to exclusive mineral fertilization in a crop rotation (experiment B). Both experiments started in 2009 and will run for three years. Thus only preliminary results on fertilization effects can be presented in this paper. Nevertheless, results from the first cropping season indicated that biogas digestates can be an adequate substitute for mineral fertilizer.
Keywords:
digestate, energy crops, fertilization, renewable energies, rotation, renewable energy
Topic:
Biomass resources
Subtopic:
Research on energy crops (session 1)
Event:
18th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
OD7.2
Pages:
224 - 229
ISBN-13:
978-88-89407-56-1
ISBN-10:
88-89407-56-5
Paper DOI:
10.5071/18thEUBCE2010-OD7.2
Price:
FREE
