Manure processor Greenferm is finally going to run

The large-scale manure processing installation Greenferm in Apeldoorn has been completed. That has taken a lot of work.

The municipality of Apeldoorn already issued permits in 2016. But when investor Berkhof from Scherpenzeel stepped in in 2018, the development process really accelerated. Despite this, an initially planned start in autumn 2019 had to be postponed. Now the time has finally come and the first fertilizer can be fed into the installation.

Between highways and railway
The business park De Ecofactorij in Apeldoorn has been chosen as the location for the realization of a processing factory. This location is centrally located in an area with a large manure surplus. In addition, this business park provides space for installations such as Greenferm by means of a zoning plan tailored to this. The Ecofactorij in Apeldoorn is a location that is easily accessible and well protected because it is located in a triangle of the A1 and A50 highways and the Apeldoorn-Deventer railway line.

Two-step processing
Various processes are applied in the factory that ultimately result in two final flows. On the one hand, an amount of waste water that is discharged into the sewer. On the other hand, composted hygienized thick manure fraction. Reuse of process water and heat, and a number of 1.100 solar panels  ensure a way of working that is as climate neutral as possible. Drying up the solid fraction and extracting air in particular takes a lot of energy, says director Willem Berkhof 

After weighing at the entrance gate on the 2-hectare site, the supplied manure is fed into one of the four supply silos via the unloading hall. Because Greenferm focuses on the processing of all possible types of animal slurry (cattle, calves, pigs and sow slurry), a mix is ​​made in the mixing silo of the different types.

40 trucks daily
Pig manure makes up the largest part of the manure volume to be supplied. A daily supply of 40 trucks of 36 tons of slurry is taken into account, says Berkhof. On an annual basis, that corresponds to 350.000 cubic meters of manure. This means that Greenferm will be the largest manure processing installation above the major rivers.

The heart of the factory revolves around the belt screen presses and the silos in which the liquid fraction is processed into water that can be discharged. This process is a combination of existing techniques. The combination provides a distinctive process, without a thin manure fraction as residue, for which sales must be sought in the regional agricultural sector. Berkhof: "That is often difficult to calculate cost-effectively, because sales are seasonal, but production continues throughout the year." Unlike many other manure processing installations, no manure is fermented. Except for the solar panels on the roof, no SDE subsidy is collected either.

Stable fertilizer market
The commercial basis of Greenferm's large manure processing installation is the processing obligation. A mandatory percentage of the surplus manure must be processed at a manure processor or exported, after the manure has been hygienised. To comply with this, the livestock farmer can conclude a Manure Processing Agreement (CSR) with Greenferm. 90% of the volume is currently contracted. Greenferm trusts that, once the installation is up and running, the rest will also be drawn in quickly. Berkhof: "Because livestock farmers contribute part of their surplus, a stable fertilizer market is created."

Now that the Greenferm installation can finally be put into operation and there are no longer any worries about permits and technical obstacles, the continuity of the manure supply will enhance the company's profitability, Berkhof is convinced. "Much of the manure stock has been spread in record time this spring due to the very dominant sunny and sharply drying weather. But despite this, there is still more than enough manure to supply the installation."

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