Circular peat alternatives from organic waste streams

In order to assess the efficiency of replacing peat with circular and locally sourced materials and what processes would be required to achieve this, SilviBio proposes to conduct a 6-8 month feasibility project.
The project will:
1) Identify and assess locally available raw materials in Crete which can include byproducts from other industries,
2) Provide a potential use case mapping of identified raw materials and whether they could replace peat use,
3) Assess the processing methodologies for valorising and/or unlocking properties in raw materials in order to achieve desired performance.

- Potential to create a locally sourced alternative to peat, thereby decreasing transport related costs and creating a more resilient, circular economy
- Route to a new higher-margin product for Intermunicipal Solid Waste Management Company
- Potential to create a higher value use case for rural bioeconomy materials and byproducts from other industries. This can support or foster sustainable rural livelihoods within the circular economy.
- Reduced imported synthetic fertiliser use.
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions thanks to replacing peat with lower emission peat free alternatives.
- Exact greenhouse gas emissions savings vary based on raw material. Our experience indicates that a 50% reduction is possible.
- The outcomes of this project can be transferable to waste processors on other islands and mainland facilities, thereby extending the benefits of this project beyond Crete.

SilviBio Ltd (https://www.silvibio.com/) are experts in creating high-performance peat-free products using locally available raw materials. Because of our focus on circularity and local material valorisation, we are well placed to address the challenge of replacing peat for agricultural and horticultural purposes and strongly believe that the best alternatives to peat are ones that can be sourced locally. To achieve this, we have developed patent-pending technologies to create peat-free alternatives in order to expand the types of materials that can replace peat use.
Our peat-free products have shown improvements in germination, seedling survival, water use and transplanting outcomes, leading to higher yields than alternatives.

In order to develop a peat-free alternative, we propose the below 3 phase outline.
Note: The costing includes analysis of up to 9 materials, including variants of the same type of material. More can be added on request.
Note: Phases can run concurrently. The project duration can be between 6-8 months with total cost: €60,150

Phase 1: Raw material scoping and feasibility assessment – this will involve scoping locally available raw materials within Crete. These can include agricultural byproducts, such as crop residues, food processor by-products and other rural bioeconomy material streams. We will consult with DEDISA regarding any parameters, restrictions and materials of interest. 2 months, €16,250

Phase 2: Raw material characterisation and potential use scoping – this will involve acquiring raw material samples, assessing volumes available and performing physical-chemical and nutrient analyses to determine which materials to explore in further phases. Based on this, we will scope the feasibility of a given raw material for replacing peat. 3 months, €22,150

Phase 3: Raw material processing scoping – based on raw materials identified in Phase 2, we will assess processing methodologies for enabling a given raw material to be used as a peat replacement. These processes may include chemical, biological and physical-mechanical transformations of raw materials to either unlock latent properties or otherwise enable them to be used in a specific use case. 3 months, €21,750