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On Tuesday, June 9th 2026, the Technopole of Ferrara will host the workshop "Valorization of Digestate with Struvite Recovery", a meeting dedicated to technological innovations and circular economy strategies applied to the agri-environmental sector.

The initiative, organized in collaboration with Clust-ER Greentech and ART-ER, represents an interesting opportunity for universities, research institutions, businesses, and professionals to discuss nutrient recovery and sustainability in the management of agricultural and livestock digestates and OFMSW (Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste).

The workshop will present the main results of the Struvite project, funded by PR-FESR funds from the Emilia-Romagna Region.

The project leader is the Centro Ricerche Produzioni Animali Soc. Cons. P.A., supported by its partners UNIBO – CIRI FRAME and the Clust-ER Energy and Sustainable Development Association, and by the Ferrara Terra & Acqua Tech laboratory, with the research group led by Professor Massimo Coltorti.

The project's goal is to produce struvite fertilizer by recovering nitrogen and phosphorus from agro-livestock digestates and OFMSW. Thanks to the new European Regulation 2019/1009 on fertilizers, struvite can now compete with synthetic fertilizers on the European market, opening up new prospects for the circular bioeconomy and the valorization of organic waste. Currently, the price of synthetic fertilizers has skyrocketed due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the US-Iran conflict. Regardless of this macroeconomic situation, urea, the main synthetic fertilizer, will be banned in the Po Valley starting in 2028, and Italian agriculture will have to look elsewhere for effective alternatives. Urea is produced using the Haber-Bosch cycle, but it is easily leached during rainfall, significantly contributing to air and water pollution.

The Terra&Acqua Tech Laboratory, through its "Water Resources, Geochemistry, and Geomaterials" research unit, is working, through the studies of researchers coordinated by Professor Coltorti, to valorize geomaterials and struvite obtained from livestock manure to transform waste into resources and reduce the environmental impact of agriculture and the livestock industry.

During the morning, the project and the prototype system developed on a farm scale will be presented, with in-depth discussions on the main digestate treatment techniques for nutrient recovery. The program also includes scientific and technological contributions focused on nitrogen recovery and reuse using zeolitic minerals, microfiltration, biochar-Mg compounds for struvite precipitation, and digestate dehydration technologies.

The event will be held at the University of Ferrara's Science and Technology Center, Room 6 of the "Cathedral," at Via Giuseppe Saragat 1, starting at 10:00 AM. Attendance is free, but registration is required by 12:00 PM on Monday, June 8, 2026, at the following link.

The workshop will be an important opportunity to explore innovative solutions dedicated to environmental sustainability, resource recovery, and the development of increasingly circular and efficient production models, fostering dialogue between research, businesses, and the local community.