32


SPENT MUSHROOM COMPOST


the heat to heat my asparagus plants. These are grown in the soil under a plastic cover. If I can keep the plants warm, I can harvest them earlier and get a higher price than I would in the asparagus season. The heat will also benefit the asparagus plants in summer when the plants stock up on sugar to gain strength for the winter.”


Soil improving products The champost produced from the composting process will also find an excellent application as a soil impro- ver and fertiliser. “The composted product has high content of organic matter,” says Ronald Verberne of Ingenia, an engineering consultancy based in Eindhoven. “Mixing champost with topsoil it improves soil structure and water retention. The addition of the organic matter to the soil also stimulates microbial life. This, in turn helps the plant to better absorb the neces- sary nutrients.” Champost can also be used to improve soil fertility, by increasing the availability of potassium, nitrogen and phosphate. If these elements prove to be present in suitable amounts champost could well become a sought-after commodity by local farmers and specialist growers. For example, thanks to the mycelium present in mushroom compost, champost has a high potassium content, of around 30 to 35 kg per tonne. The high potassium content makes it a potentially interesting fertilizer for vineyards in Germany and France. The quality of the champost can be further improved by adding dried pig manure to the smc before com- posting. “Pig manure, which is readily available locally, offers several advantages,” says Verberne: “Its addition increases the amounts of phosphate in champost. In ad- dition, the nitrogen from pig manure, which is released as gaseous ammonia during composting, can be re- covered into a solution of ammonium sulfate using the scrubbers, which are required under environmental legislation. This, in turn, can be added to the champost mix.” Researchers at the Green Campus in Helmond plan to study the effect of the enriched champost on plants, focusing specifically at the uptake of nutrients by the plant and the percentage of nutrients leached into soil and groundwater.


Overcoming opposition Not all composting initiatives are welcomed by local residents. Recently an initiative for large-scale proces- sing of pig manure in the Gemert - Bakel municipality


was nipped in the bud because of opposition from local residents. “Although the processing of pig manure is generally met by suspicion in and around the muni- cipality, the composting project proposed by CKG is different “, says Hoppezak, who is also an Ambassador for the Biobased Economy of the City Region Eindho- ven (SRE). “It mainly involves the relatively small scale controlled composting of smc by a family-run business operated by a well respected local family. “To reassure the community we try to show people what we are doing,” adds Pieter van den Boomen. “That’s why we don’t put our composting tunnels so- mewhere out back, hidden behind conifers, but locate them so that they are very visible along the main road into the village. Anyone passing by will be able to see what we’re doing.” The three composting tunnels and accessory installa- tions will be placed in a building designed by Dennis van de Rijdt, an architect from Denkkamer Architectuur en Onderzoek. “It will be a sustainable building,” he says. “To emphasize that there is nothing to hide, the facade on the side of the road will include translucent panels of plastic (polycarbonate) so people can see what is going on. It will also include a lighting system which, among other things, will show the location and extent of the biological activity and how much energy is being generated. In this way we hope to remove any doubts about the process and demonstrate that the conversion of waste into bio-based energy is useful, necessary, and above all, sustainable.” ◗


The family receives the prize for winning the 2013 Biobased Eco- nomy Competition.


Upcycled champost.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44