Biofertiliser Certification offered by SFQC
29 April 2010
SFQC has recently been appointed as one of two certification bodies to operate the newly launched Biofertiliser Certification Scheme (BCS). The BCS exists to assist in the certification and marketing of digested products. The Scheme is owned by the Renewable Energy Association (REA). SFQC has worked closely with the REA and WRAP in developing this practical yet effective scheme. The objective of the BCS is to provide assurance that the digestate (the part of the process that remains after all the biogas has been extracted) is not classified as waste but as a valuable fertiliser with the bonus of returning useful amounts of organic matter to soils.
Since the EU Landfill Directive came into force, limiting the amount of biodegradable waste that can be put to landfill, alternative disposal methods have had to be considered. There is strong public opposition to incineration, so composting and anaerobic digestion (AD) have become important ways of tackling the growing waste problem. Whilst composting is useful for green waste, AD is more appropriate for materials that are odourous, have a high moisture content (e.g. food or slaughterhouse waste). AD is also a useful technology for releasing energy and available nitrogen from any biodegradeable material that does not have a high lignin or other inhibitory material content (e.g. animal manures and crops).
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a biological process, which naturally occurs in environments with little or no oxygen. Throughout Europe, the AD process is used to breakdown biodegradable materials into Biogas and Digestate.
- Biogas is typically 60% methane and may be utilised to produce electricity, heat or vehicle fuel.
- Digestate is a liquid product that can be used whole as a soil conditioner/fertiliser or separated into liquid and fibre fractions. These three materials are known as digested materials
AD can be used on farms, at community scale or as part of large commercial operations, taking in waste from many sources. The resulting digestate is in a more stable and consistent form than the raw materials, thus making it easier for farmers to match applications to crop requirements.
Certification
The BCS uses PAS 110 and the Quality Digestate Protocol (QDP) to provide assurance that an AD plant complies with all relevant legal and good practice requirements and that the digestate produced is of a consistent and verifiable quality.
Certification to the PAS110 and the QDP allows the digestate to be classified as a product rather than a waste, so it can then be spread on land without the need to register with SEPA or the Environment Agency for a Waste Exemption License. Certification should provide confidence in the marketplace that food grown using digested products will not cause harm to humans, animals, plants or the environment.
The PAS 110 and the QDP deal only with digested materials. There is currently no requirement for certification for biogas.
More information on the BCS is available at www.biofertiliser.org.uk and or from SFQC Biofertiliser technical manager, Gary Stoddart, on 0131 335 6604.