BIOPROS is an COLLECTIVE RESEARCH PROJECT with a duration of 3 years and funded by the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Commission. The aim of the BIOPROS-project is to gain knowledge about the economic, ecological and technical feasibility of Short-Rotation-Plantations (SRP) for different local conditions and market requirements. Short-Rotation-Plantations are a very promising alternative source of income by cultivating fast growing tree species as a source for bio energy or other purposes with multifunctional characteristics as the application of wastewater and sewage sludge for irrigation and fertilisation. Due to this procedure SRP's are high efficient biomass production systems with additional contributions as biological filters to a low-cost and environmentally safe biological wastewater and sludge treatment. Main focus will lay on the safe and efficient application of wastewater and sludge to guarantee high yields and sufficient treatment performance without any negative environmental or hygienic impacts. Lack of knowledge about the high SRP potential and prejudices against the application of human wastes shall be minimised during the project as well as barriers against the application of SRP-biomass. For this reason a wide range of aspects will be subject of research including SRP's’ best practice and costs as well as related legislation and standards.

Duration: 2005-2008

Budget: 2.729.718 €

Partners:

• EUROPEAN BIOMASS INDUSTRIAL ASSOCIATION (Europe) - Coordinator
• ASOCIACI N AGRARIA J VENES AGRICULTORES (Spain)
• BULGARSKA ASOCIACIA NA FERMERITE (Bulgaria)
• LANTBRUKARNAS RIKSFÖRBUND (Sweden)
• KRAJOWRY ZWIAZEK ROLNIKÓW, KÓLEK I ORGANIZACJI ROLNICZYCH (Poland)
• EESTIMAA TALUPIDAJATE KESKLIIT (Estonia)
• ZWIAZEK SLASKICH ROLNIKOW (Poland)
• CONFEDERAZIONE GENERALE DELL AGRICOLTURA ITALIANA (Italy)
• CESKÉ SDRUŽENI PRO BIOMASU (Czech Republic)
• SLOVENSKA ASCOCIACIA PRE BIOMASU (Slovak Republic)
• INTERNATIONAL ECOLOGICAL ENGENEERING SOCIETY (Int.)
• HELMUT LAMP (Germany)
• ANTONIO RAMOIS FERNÁNDEZ (Spain)
• GRZEGORZ PLONKA (Poland)
• ÄTTEVALJA OÜ (Estonia)
• AGROIMPEX LTD. (Bulgaria)
• BIOMASA, ZDRUŽENIE PRÁVNICKÝCH OSÔB (Slovak Republic)
• BIOAZUL S.L. (Spain)
• LAQUA TREATMENT AB (Sweden)
• ETA – ENERGIA TRANSPORTI AGRICOLTURA S.R.L. (Italy)
• TECHNOLOGIE-TRANSFER-ZENTRUM BREMERHAVEN E.V. (Germany)
• ESTI PÕLLUMAJANDUSULIKOOL (Estonia)
• SVERIGES LANTBRUKSUNIVERSITET (Sweden)
• ISTITUTO SPERIMENTALE PER LE COLTURE INDUSTRIAL (Italy)
• SZKOLA GLÓWNA GOSPODARSTWA WIEJSHIEGO (Poland)

   

Main technical objectives of the BIOPROS project:

• to enable an efficiency increase in Short-Rotation-Plantation (SRP) biomass production up to 3 times throughout Europe by reusing wastewater and sewage sludge for irrigation and fertilisation.
• to enable the safe and efficient application of wastewater and sewage sludge in SRP's
• to promote SRP biomass production throughout Europe by transferring the generated know-how to potential SRP end-users and market actors a highly.

• to increase the production of CO2-neutral wooden biomass in SRP's as a renewable raw materia for different technical purposes up to 3 times.
• to reduce application of natural water resources for SRP irrigation by 30%.
• to substitute chemical fertilisers by 100%.
• to completely prevent pollution of aquifers and surface waters potentially arising from uncontrolled wastewater and sludge reuse by developing standards for safe and efficient SRP operation.
• to contribute to soil improvement on agricultural land by humus and nutrient enrichment.

• to increase farmer’s income by 10% thus strengthening their independency from regressing subsidies (e.g. from EU’s Common Agricultural Policy).
• to create employment in especially rural areas and throughout the whole biomass sector.

Background:
The economic situation for European farmers deteriorated constantly during the last decade because of increasing cost pressures on agricultural products. In 2003 the agricultural sector again was suffering from a 20% reduced income so an increasing number of farmers had serious economic problems or even must abandon their business. The foreseen decoupling of subsidies from fixed production rates will lead to further price deteriorations especially for food products and will aggravate the difficult situation for agricultural SMEs. By including the 10 new Member States this development concerns for more than 11.9 million agrarian enterprises in the EU25 (most of them SMEs). Instead of price stability future EU subsidies are meant to strengthen farmers’ role in rural development and fulfilment of quality standards for environment, animal protection and food security.
To be competitive, farmers throughout the EU are obliged to adapt their business activities in terms of alternative products and general quality requirements. A huge potential to provide farmers with high alternative income arises from agricultural production of wooden biomass in so called Short-Rotation-Plantations (SRP). In SRP's fast growing tree species (currently mainly willows and poplars) can be cultivated under application of wastewater and/or sewage sludge for irrigation and fertilisation. The application of these resources avoids water stress and can increase annual yields up to 3 times to about 10-12 t of dry matter/ha/y. So income for SRP farmers emerges from both high production of wooden biomass and from biological treatment of the applied “human wastes” by the crops’ nutrient and water demand. Economic studies confirm that an annual yield of only 9 t/ha/y would be necessary to receive positive returns from SRP biomass. Market prices for wooden biomass will raise in parallel with the fast growing biomass demand for wood-chips, wood-pellets for heat power, bio fuels production and other industrial products. However, apart from the economic biomass potential, main benefit for SRP farmers can result from the wastewater and sludge treatment performance in the plantation.
The potential of each resource thereby depends on local treatment situation. In areas with high connection rates to modern treatment facilities the potential of SRP's arises from its flexibility in wastewater or sludge application. Effluents from wastewater treatment plants can efficiently be used for irrigation by avoiding direct discharge and providing an additional biological treatment step. Sludge, as a residue from wastewater treatment procedure can be used for SRP's fertilisation. In areas with low access to modern treatment facilities, like especially in dispersed rural regions in the New Member States and Candidate Countries, SRP's will be a low-cost alternative for the construction of cost intensive high standard treatment technologies.

Further information can be found on the project website www.biopros.info.