Ebro River Basin GREENHOOD

Coordinating partner

BETA Technological Centre (UVIC)

location_on Location Balaguer, Catalonia, Spain

The Ebro River Basin is one of the largest river basins in Spain, covering parts of Aragon and Catalonia. The region faces nutrient imbalances primarily due to intensive agricultural activities.

Challenges

The nutrient imbalances in the region are impacting both soil and water quality.

A biogas plant located on the outskirts of Balaguer, in the Noguera region, plays a key role in nutrient management and circular economy solutions. The facility processes 30,000 tonnes of manure per year and 20,000 tonnes of agricultural waste. The plant is associated with a dairy farm housing approximately 2,000 cows, serving as a testbed for sustainable nutrient recovery and bioenergy production.
Key factors contributing to nutrient loading:
- Agriculture covers approximately 240,000 ha (28% of the land area).
- 80% of farms focus on crop and plant production.
- Livestock production, mainly pigs and poultry, is concentrated in the northern and western parts.
- High risk of erosion due to clay-dominant soils.
- Historical phosphorus accumulation in soils from past fertilisation practices.

Efforts needed to reduce nutrient loading:

Optimising nutrient management to prevent over-fertilisation.
Implementing advanced environmental technologies for nutrient recovery and reuse.
Enhancing water protection measures to mitigate nitrate leaching into aquifers.
Developing circular bioeconomy solutions, such as bio-based fertilisers from manure and agri-waste.
Improving wastewater treatment processes to recover nutrients from effluents.
Promoting low-emission livestock waste management to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus runoff.

Objective

The project aims to mitigate nitrogen and phosphorus emissions in key sectors, including:

Agriculture: by reducing fertiliser runoff and improving nutrient management.
Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs): by enhancing nutrient recovery from effluents.
Groundwater: by remediating nitrate-polluted aquifers.

Solution

The Ebro River Basin demo implements innovative nutrient management strategies to re-balance nutrient budgets through:

Advanced environmental technologies for nutrient recovery.
Bioremediation of nitrate-polluted groundwater.
Assessment of duckweed for urban wastewater treatment and effluent reuse.
Smart fertilisation and fertigation, including the formulation of tailor-made fertilisers.

Key focus areas:

Bioenergy: promoting nutrient recovery through anaerobic digestion.
Reclaimed water: enhancing water reuse for agriculture.
Bio-Based Fertilisers (BBF): production of ammonium sulfate and organic amendments.
Tailor-Made Fertilisers (TMF): optimising nutrient formulations for crop needs.

Technological approach

Key technological innovations

The project integrates cutting-edge technologies to enhance nutrient recovery and minimise environmental impact.

Capacity

Technological treatment capacity: up to 3m3
Agronomic practice capacity: up to 10 Ha

Technology readiness

Initial TRL: 5-6
Final TRL expected: 8

Core technologies

AD
S/L separation
Electrocoagulation
Membrane distillation
Microalgae cultivation
Low-emission composting

Get engage

Stakeholders, researchers, and businesses are invited to collaborate in advancing sustainable nutrient management solutions for the Ebro River Basin . Find out how you can contribute to ongoing initiatives and policy developments.

Get involved

Publication

20 maart 2025

23
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29
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DOI 10.5281/zenodo.15056374

05 februari 2025

25
Views

22
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GREENHOOD Press Release: A European Initiative to Rebalance Nutrient Flows for a Sustainable Future

Press release for the launch of the GREENHOOD project, a four-year Horizon Europe Innovation Action aimed at developing...

DOI 10.5281/zenodo.14809181

Partners

Coordinator

Affiliated partner

The nutrient imbalances in the region are impacting both soil and water quality.

The project aims to mitigate nitrogen and phosphorus emissions in key sectors, including:

The Ebro River Basin demo implements innovative nutrient management strategies to re-balance nutrient budgets through: