VegWaMus CirCrop · Developing commercial mushroom and vegetable production in an integrated food to waste to food biosystem.
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2017-10-01 → 2022-07-22
- EU contribution
- €196,400
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Developing commercial mushroom and vegetable production in an integrated food to waste to food biosystem.
Yearly losses of food around the world are estimated to 1.3 billion tones. This contributes to green-house gas emissions (6 to 10 % of global). Anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic matter generates biogas energy while reducing atmospheric emissions of methane. Food waste as a substrate for AD is highly biodegradable and yields high biogas production. Such waste management is established in many countries as a policy of reducing emissions. Biogas digestate is the residue produced during the process. Recycling this as a fertiliser and growing medium for vegetable production can be a sustainable ap-proach with many benefits. Digestate contains abundant nutrients and plant-beneficial substances. Commercial use of digestate is still poorly developed worldwide due to unstable or low yields of vegeta-bles compared to that of mineral fertiliser. Sustainable crop production is assumed crucial for the future of agriculture. AD also yields a green source of CO2 which can substitute fossil CO2 used in greenhous-es. The overall objective of VegWaMus CirCrop project was to close the loop between food waste AD and reuse of digestate for mushroom and plant crop cultivation in an integrated food to waste to food biosystem. VegWaMus CirCrop intended at developing a mushroom cultivation substrate based on digestate. The aim was also to explore possibilities of reusing the spent mushroom substrate as an addi-tive for vegetable plant production, creating possibilities for mushroom growers all over the world for sustainable reuse of resources within controlled plant crop production. VegWaMus CirCrop project demonstrated that a circular, zero-waste food production concept is scientifically and commercially feasible.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
VegWaMus CirCrop aim to develop commercial mushroom and vegetable production in an integrated food to waste to food biosystem. The project objective is on closing loop between biogas production based on food wastes and reuse of outputafter anaerobic digestion (AD). Mushroom and plant crop cultivation is usually performed through energy- and resource-intensive process (based on fossil or mineral resources), which generate wastes and the high CO2 footprint. Main emphasis has been on plant crops, but integrated mushroom cultivation has been found to be highly interesting from botCircular approach in which organic wastes are utilized for both energy (renewable biogas) and crop production in a closed system. Foodwaste treated in anaerobic digestion (AD) can be considered as a multicomponent organic fertiliser and byproduct for plant and mushroom cultivation substrate. Sustainable horticulture should reuse organic waste. The objectives of project will be achieved by indicating mushroom species which will be grown commercially on substrate based on digestate and vegetable plant grown rousing spent mushroom substrate (after cultivation). Combined cultivation will be incorporated in sustainable greenhouse environment in food to waste to food biosystem based on crop and substrate circulation. Lindum and associated partners have for several years developed more circular approach in which organic wastes are utilized for both energy(renewable biogas) and crops production in a closed system. Launched in 2016, Grønt Skifte AS, will realize a large R&D greenhouse unit located next to a new large anaerobic digestion (AD) plant. The unit will investigate anddemonstrate full utilization of output CO2, heat and organic residue (digestate) from the AD. The large international interest towards the activities of Grønt Skifte is related to project’s potential for helping governments and communitiesmeeting the Paris Agreement. This is the circular and future way of food production.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- Lindum AS · DrammenCoordinatorNorway
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union