The project has in fact progressed beyond both current state-of-the-art and the expected technical feasibility when the project was initiated. The project is structured in five parts:
1. Biomass pre-treatment and handling
2. Processing of degasified biomass
3. Fibre and phase 2 substrate production
4. Phase 3 substrate production
5. Mushroom production in tray system
Circular economy is the whole cornerstone of the project. Circular economy through the transformation of a low-value product into high-value products ensures our strategic objective of being more sustainable.
Advanced Substrate Technology (AST) is the exclusive owner of GS, with the option to divest parts of GS at a later date. AST has a collaboration with Pindstrup Mosebrug (PM) on the development of green substrate for plant production and has entered into an agreement for PM to purchase a significant amount from GS. In addition, GS cooperates with Panbo on the supply of green substrate for mushroom production and from autumn 2020, there will be a continuous supply to Panbo's new mushroom production plant in Germany.
The project impacts UN’s 17 sustainable goals as below:
2: Zero Hunger (End Hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.)
DBG circular approach to sustainable production makes DBG meet this goal. Conversion of the entire degassed biomass to high-value products including organic fertilizer gives a productive agricultural practice.
9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Through biomass degradation, grinding and N-steaming, energy utilization of the biomass is increased by up to 60% in biogas plants. Local biomasses such as carrot hems, wet straw etc. with DBG technology can enter biogas plants.
12: Responsible consumption and production
DBG has a high degree of circular production by making more waste materials available for biogas production and creating more fertilizers of the degassed biomass.
13: Climate action
The DBG method of getting biomass into a biogas plant ensures less loss of methane collected as biogas and avoids the release of methane as a greenhouse gas. For example, straw covering carrots could come into biogas plants rather than being plowed down. At the plant, we talk about 20,000 tons of straw on top of carrot that can give 2.3 million. m3 methane that comes out as biogas rather than released as methane in the atmosphere under molding.
15: Life on land
With DBG technology, it is possible to produce an organic start fertilizer for use in organic production, which is not available on the market today. Furthermore, AST has shown and patented method which allows degassed fiber to be used as a substitute for spaghetti for plant production and as a fungal substrate. Mushroom substrates are produced today by a composting process and thus methane is released into the atmosphere rather than as biogas by the AST method.
