Pigs’ slurry might fly

Licensing opportunity

Scientists participating in the EU project Ecodiptera presented a technique for transforming Europe’s pig slurry lakes into high-quality fertiliser and proteins, at a meeting held in Brussels last week to showcase their research.

The new technique involves the judicious addition of fly larvae, which have the capacity to grow in decomposing organic matter. After a growth phase, the larvae are transformed  into pupae, and in the course of this process, between 50 and 70 per cent of waste is degraded, and incorporated to the biomass of the larva. The remainder of the waste is modified into a high-quality organic fertiliser by enzymes that are excreted by the developing larvae.

Speaking at the seminar, the Regional Minister of Agriculture for Valencia, Juan Cotino, said, “This project has the potential to solve one of the worst problems that farmers have in our region, and in the European Union.”

Ecodiptera is a three-year €1.5 million project co-financed by the EU under the leadership of the County Council of Valencia. The other partners, the University of Alicante, the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the University of Helsinki, are now working on building a pilot plant for the bio-degradation of pig manure, which will be located in Tuéjar, in the Region of Los Serranos, in Valencia.