Bio-solution · NU03 · Fertilisers & plant nutrition
Organic and organo-mineral fertilizers made from biogas digestate, compost, vermicompost and insect frass instead of part of mineral NPK
Replaces
Part of the mineral NPK (urea, DAP/MAP, potash) applied to field and horticultural crops; mineral-only fertilization of soils low in organic matter
Part of the mineral NPK (urea, DAP/MAP, potash) applied to field and horticultural crops; mineral-only fertilization of soils low in organic matter
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Scope
Solid and liquid digestate, compost, vermicompost, insect frass, and granulated organo-mineral blends (organic carrier enriched with mineral nutrients)
Solid and liquid digestate, compost, vermicompost, insect frass, and granulated organo-mineral blends (organic carrier enriched with mineral nutrients)
Suppliers 16
| Afyon Gübre & Enerji | Turkey | active |
| ARF Bio Yenilenebilir Enerji Üretim A.Ş. | Turkey | active |
| Supersol Biotechnology Inc. | Turkey | active |
| SMA - Indústria e Negócios Agropecuários | Brazil | active |
| Vittia (B3: VITT3) | Brazil | active |
| NUTRINSECTOS | Mexico | active |
| Entobel | Vietnam | active |
| Biowatt-Biogas | China | active |
| Inno Integrasi Sdn Bhd | Malaysia | active |
| Star Lake/Eppen 星湖科技 (SSE 600866) | China | active |
| Sanergy | Kenya | active |
| HomeBiogas | Israel | active |
| NOVA | Argentina | active |
| INORA Biotech Pvt. Ltd. | India | active |
| Jaipur Bio Fertilizers | India | active |
| Fishfa Bioscience Limited | India | active |
Route into Russia / EAEU AGROCHEM
- Regulator
- Ministry of Agriculture (Minselkhoz)
- Typical time
- about 1-2 years incl. registration trials
- Legal basis
- Federal Law 109-FZ; Minselkhoz Order No. 327 (13.05.2025): application, registration trials, expert assessment, entry in the State Register
Information, not legal advice — confirm the procedure for your product.
Proof 3 claims
Old process
Conventional mineral NPK fertilizers, primarily produced via the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process (for nitrogen) and mined phosphate rock.
Conventional mineral NPK fertilizers, primarily produced via the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process (for nitrogen) and mined phosphate rock.
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New practice
Use of digestate, insect frass, and other bio-based fertilizers (BBFs) derived from organic waste streams (manure, food waste, sludge) as substitutes for mineral NPK fertilizers.
Use of digestate, insect frass, and other bio-based fertilizers (BBFs) derived from organic waste streams (manure, food waste, sludge) as substitutes for mineral NPK fertilizers.
- Displaced at scale?
- partly
- Caveats
- While digestate and other bio-based fertilizers have the technical potential to replace significant portions of mineral fertilizers, actual commercial displacement is currently limited by logistical costs, regulatory constraints (such as the EU Nitrates Directive), and the need for further policy support to scale adoption. Most evidence refers to technical potential or field-trial performance rather than widespread market-level displacement.
- Hand review
- D1 Projection only: digestate 'could technically replace' 16% of mineral N in Europe.
- checked
- 2026-10-06
| Current European digestate production has the technical potential to replace more than 16% of mineral nitrogen fertilizers, up to 30% of phosphorus, and 10% of potassium demand in European agriculture. “Such production volumes could technically replace more than 16% of mineral nitrogen fertilisers used in European agriculture, alongside up to 30% of phosphorus and 10% of potassium demand.” Europe · 2024 · minority but measured share or volume | industry association ✓ www.europeanbiogas.eu |
| Insect frass and various bio-based fertilizers have demonstrated mineral fertilizer replacement values (MFRVs) often exceeding 100% in field and pot trials, indicating they can effectively substitute for mineral P fertilizers. “In conclusion, most tested BBFs have the potential to replace conventional inorganic P fertilisers across a range of European soils and climate.” Europe/Canada (trials) · 2025 · large measured reduction of the old process | peer-reviewed www.mdpi.com |
| Rising synthetic fertilizer prices linked to natural gas costs have driven increased interest in bio-based fertilizers as a cost-effective alternative. “Recent supply chain disruptions and limited access to natural gas have led to a surge in synthetic fertiliser prices, dramatically increasing production costs and food prices (Alexander et al., 2023). These events, combined with the depletion of fossil-fuel reserves (Welsby et al., 2021), have spurred a renewed …” US/Europe · 2015-2022 · | weak (company, news, market research, other) www.nutri2cycle.eu |
Details
Replaces (partial): mineral NPK share · Scope: field and horticultural crops · Evidence: high (soil fertility), medium (yield parity)
The chemical problem#
- Mineral NPK feeds the crop but not the soil: long-term mineral-only programmes lose soil organic matter, structure and water-holding capacity.
- Mineral N depends on fossil gas; phosphate rock is finite and often carries cadmium (see NU04).
- At the same time, organic residues (manure, food waste, sludge, crop residues) are dumped, burned or landfilled, where they emit methane.
Product overview#
- Digestate — the residue of anaerobic digestion (biogas). Liquid fraction is rich in ammonium N; solid fraction carries P and organic matter.
- Compost and vermicompost — aerobically stabilized organic matter; slow-release N, P, K plus humus.
- Insect frass — black soldier fly or cricket excrement plus exuviae (chitin); a fertilizer with biostimulant properties.
- Organo-mineral fertilizers (OMF) — granules combining an organic carrier (compost, digestate solids, filter cake) with mineral nutrients; can be spread with standard fertilizer equipment.
Active ingredient / Composition#
| Product | Typical nutrients (fresh or as sold) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Liquid digestate | 2–6 kg NH₄-N/m³, P and K | High ammonia-loss risk at spreading (use injection or trailing hose) |
| Compost | 1–2 % N (mostly organic), 0.5–1 % P₂O₅ | Slow release; rebuilds organic carbon |
| Insect frass | ~2–4 % N, P, K, chitin | Legal as a fertilizer after heat treatment (EU: 70 °C, 60 min) |
| Organo-mineral granule | e.g. 40 % organic matter + 4–10 % N/P₂O₅ | Example in the index: 40 % OM, 6 % humic+fulvic, 1.5 % N, 4 % P₂O₅ |
Key facts#
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Long-term effect | Organic amendments raise soil organic carbon, microbial biomass and aggregate stability over years |
| Yield | Organic-only systems yield on average less than conventional (gap depends on crop and N supply); combined organic + mineral programmes close most of the gap |
| Regulation | EU FPR 2019/1009 component material categories for compost (CMC 3) and digestate (CMC 4, 5); national rules for sludge-derived products |
| Logistics | Low nutrient density → transport cost limits radius unless dried or granulated (OMF) |
Advantages#
- Closes the loop between waste treatment (biogas, composting, insect farms) and crop nutrition.
- Builds soil organic matter, water retention and biological activity that mineral fertilizer does not supply.
- Organo-mineral granules handle like mineral fertilizer, so farmers do not need new spreaders.
- Cuts landfill and open-dump methane at the source.
Mode of action#
- Organic N mineralizes gradually through soil microbial activity, matching crop uptake better than a single urea dose.
- Organic carbon feeds soil biology, improves structure and cation-exchange capacity, and keeps P more available.
- Frass chitin stimulates chitinolytic microbes and plant defence (a biostimulant side effect).
Application#
| Situation | Target | Method, timing and specifics |
|---|---|---|
| Arable land near biogas plants | N and P supply | Liquid digestate by trailing hose or injection in spring; expect a mineral-fertilizer equivalent of roughly 50–70 % of total N (higher with low-emission spreading) |
| Vegetables, orchards | Organic matter | Compost 10–30 t/ha before planting; reduce base NPK accordingly |
| Field crops far from waste sources | Convenience | Organo-mineral granules through standard spreaders |
| Nurseries, high-value horticulture | Fertility plus biostimulation | Vermicompost or frass mixed into substrate (see CE01) |
Limitations#
- Nutrient content varies batch to batch — analyse before calculating rates.
- Contaminants: heavy metals, plastics and pathogens depend on feedstock; certified schemes (quality-assured compost/digestate) are essential.
- Ammonia losses from digestate can be large without low-emission spreading.
- Bulky products: economics fall quickly with transport distance.
Evidence of displacement — D1: works, adoption not proven#
Assessment (hand-reviewed): Projection only: digestate ‘could technically replace’ 16% of mineral N in Europe.
Figures found (verified as quoted, but the assessment above explains why they do not count as displacement evidence for this substitution):
- displacement — Current European digestate production has the technical potential to replace more than 16% of mineral nitrogen fertilizers, up to 30% of phosphorus, and 10% of potassium demand in European agriculture. (Europe, 2024; industry association: europeanbiogas.eu)
Suppliers — real products and services (from the vendor index)#
Active vendors whose own card shows digestate, compost, vermicompost, frass or organo-mineral fertilizer products.
| Company | Region · Country | What the index shows | Card |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afyon Gübre & Enerji | Africa/ME · Turkey | organic and organo-mineral fertilizers from a biogas plant (40 % OM, 6 % humic+fulvic) | card |
| ARF Bio Yenilenebilir Enerji Üretim A.Ş. | Africa/ME · Turkey | biogas power plus organic and organo-mineral fertilizer from its residues | card |
| Supersol Biotechnology Inc. | Africa/ME · Turkey | vermicompost (incl. pelletized) and organic solid fertilizers | card |
| SMA - Indústria e Negócios Agropecuários | LatAm · Brazil | organic and organo-mineral fertilizers (BIOVITTA) | card |
| Vittia (B3: VITT3) | LatAm · Brazil | organo-mineral and fluid fertilizers, inoculants | card |
| NUTRINSECTOS | LatAm · Mexico | cricket frass for organic plant nutrition | card |
| Entobel | Asia · Vietnam | BSF plant; frass repurposed as fertilizer | card |
| Biowatt-Biogas | Asia · China | bio-fertilizer production from digestate | card |
| Inno Integrasi Sdn Bhd | Asia · Malaysia | aerobic composting of organic waste into bio-organic fertilizers | card |
| Star Lake/Eppen 星湖科技 (SSE 600866) | Asia · China | bio-organic fertilizers and microbial agents | card |
| Sanergy | Africa/ME · Kenya | organic fertilizer (and BSF protein) from sanitation waste | card |
| HomeBiogas | Africa/ME · Israel | digesters turning manure into biogas and digestate fertilizer | card |
| NOVA | LatAm · Argentina | new bio-organic fertilizer lines (Ferti Nova plant) | card |
| INORA Biotech Pvt. Ltd. | Asia · India | proprietary microbial cultures and vermicomposting | card |
| Jaipur Bio Fertilizers | Asia · India | vermicompost, press-mud compost and organic manures | card |
| Fishfa Bioscience Limited | Asia · India | bio-organic fertilizers and organic manure | card |
Government funding signals#
Scanned 2026-10-01 (OpenAIRE + NSF); candidates reviewed by hand.
Signal: Moderate. Frass is being funded as a product: the Swedish Energy Agency project P2022-00723 “Frass as a biostimulant for large-scale cultivation” (SEK 3.0 M). The wider organic-amendment field is funded mostly through national agricultural programmes, which these two sources cover poorly.
Scientific evidence#
- Möller K, Müller T (2012). Effects of anaerobic digestion on digestate nutrient availability and crop growth: a review. Engineering in Life Sciences 12: 242–257.
- Diacono M, Montemurro F (2010). Long-term effects of organic amendments on soil fertility. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 30: 401–422.
- Poveda J (2021). Insect frass in the development of sustainable agriculture. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 41: 5.
- Seufert V, Ramankutty N, Foley JA (2012). Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture. Nature 485: 229–232.
Bioeconomy value#
Every biogas plant, composting site and insect farm in this index also makes a fertilizer. Selling it as a quality-assured product, not disposing of it as a residue, improves the economics of the waste plant and cuts the farm’s mineral NPK bill.
Cross-links: EN01/EN04 biogas; FD02 insect meal; WC02 food waste and BSF; WC03 sludge; NU04 recovered phosphorus.