Dear WalNUT friends,

welcome to the third edition of the WalNUT newsletter! Our beloved project has already celebrated over two years of lifetime, and we have many exciting news to share with you all.

2023 has been an year of intense laboratory work, where the most promising and cutting-edge technologies for nutrient recovery from wastewater streams have been tested and assessed, focusing on the best combinations of technologies and feedstocks. Comparisons between different technologies with the same aim, different feedstocks, pre-treatments, adsorbents or regenerant have been carried out, adopting also a LCSA (Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment) perspective.

Now we are ready to move to the pilot phase! Belgium leads the way, with our partner AQUAFIN initiating operations in the pilot plant of Aartselaar (near Antwerp), working on the recovery of urban wastewater and sewage sludge. All the other WalNUT pilots are expected to start by the beginning of 2024. You can have a closer look at the "Pilot plant demo definition", prepared by CETAQUA, including a description of the WalLAB methodology to scale-up technologies to pilot level.

The WalNUT Platform is up and running! It has been designed as a collaboration hub for the project's stakeholders to meet and create synergies. The Platform promotes industrial symbiosis among key players, while providing a structured knowledge repository on agricultural nutrients from secondary resources within and outside Europe, covering the entire value chain.

Last but not least, WalNUT is among the organisers of the Nutrient in Europe Research Meeting (NERM) 2024, led by the European Sustainable Phosphorous Platform (ESPP) in collaboration with the H2020 projects FERTIMANURE, LEX4BIO, RUSTICA, SEA2LAND, and Biorefine Cluster Europe. The event will be held in Brussels on the 16th and 17th of April 2024, tackling the key achievements and challenges of nutrient recycling R&D in Europe. Stay tuned to receive soon more details on the agenda and reserve your spot!

Thank you once again for your interest in WalNUT, and don't forget to follow our social media pages on X and LinkedIn to be always up-to-date with the news of our project!

The WalNUT team

Located in Aartselaar near Antwerp, the pilot works on the recovery of urban wastewater and sewage sludge

WalNUT launches its new collaboration Platform, an online interactive tool for stakeholders in the project ecosystem to meet and connect.

Towards closing nutrient cycles for a sustainable future, from R&D to implementation.

WalNUT has launched "A chat with WalNUT", a series of brief video interviews with project experts to dig deeper into our work in the world of nutrient recycling!

The first 4 episodes are now online, featuring Francisco Corona Encinas and Fernando Burgoa (CARTIF), Alicia González Míguez (CETAQUA), Maria Kyriazi (NTUA) and a special chat in Dutch with Lennert Dockx (AQUAFIN), introducing the Aartselaar pilot site.

Have a closer look at the latest reports from WalNUT:

• Nutrient flow analysis and transfer model

• Nutrient imbalance analysis

• Barriers on Bio-Bades Fertilizers development

• EU27 matrix for bio-based input streams and nutrient recovery technologies

• Harmonised protocol for the characterisation of waste water streams and validation technologies at lab scale

• Characterisation of waste water streams with different origin

• Report on Microbiological Processes

• Report on HRAS/CS & adsorption/ion-exchange process

• Report on ABC- BioPhosphate: multi-functional biofertiliser and adsorbent

• Report on Nanofiltration and Selective Crystallisation Processes

• Report on Ion exchange and membrane contactors processes and Smart BBF formulation

• Pilot plant demo definition

• Good experimental practice protocol

• Inventory and integrated assessment of the EU regulations related to the production and application of bio-based fertilisers

The WalNUT survey is open!

Choose your role by clicking on the icons below and support our research on the Nutrient Recovery Awareness in Europe!

Click here to read more about the survey scope and objectives.