Innovative way to restore unproductive soils using sapropel reclaimant: 5 times cheaper

According to the UN, around 12,000,000 hectares of soil are degraded every year worldwide. The European Union’s ‘Caring for Soil, Caring for Life’ mission aims to ensure that at least 75% of soils in every EU country are in a good condition to provide essential services by 2030.

The world’s scientific-technological environment has shaped the concept: without humus recovery, soil will not recover, and humus will not recover without organic matter. According to statistics, there is a critical deficit of organic matter on the market. In order to restore the 12 000 000 ha of soil that are degraded each year, the current global supply of manure represents only 4% of the demand, and vermicompost only 0.03% of the demand.

The circular economy involves recycling and reusing organic food waste. According to statistics, recycling all food waste from kitchens across the European Union can only produce about 5% of the organic material needed to restore 12 000 000 ha of soil.

An alternative is needed

Sapropel is a complex of natural organic-mineral sediments from freshwater lakes, with global reserves of over 100 billion tonnes. The use of sapropel in agriculture is authorised by the European Commission’s Implementing Regulation (EU) No 354/2014. The use of sapropel reclamation to restore unproductive soils is known to science and the market. Scientific field studies in Egypt, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates have established the necessary effective application rate of sapropel reclaimant in conventional technology at 60 t/ha. At these application rates, the investment in soil remediation is commercially unviable and does not actually take place.

An innovative solution

Scarabaeus is an agricultural technology developed by GJ Magma Ltd. in Lithuania that allows the amount of soil conditioner applied to be reduced by a factor of 5, ensuring that the restored area has the same soil fertility as when the full, unreduced amount was applied. Instead of the 60 t/ha rate of conventional technology, an application rate of 12 t/ha is sufficient.

Research

For the first time, field research was carried out in Lithuania between 2019 and 2021.Using Scarabaeus technology in a sand and gravel quarry, the soil was artificially fertilised with a mix of sapropel and peat to a level suitable for crop production using an ameliorant made of sapropel and peat.

A comparison was made between a traditional technology, applying 60 t/ha of ameliorant, and the innovative Scarabaeus technology, applying 12 t/ha of ameliorant. The research was carried out by the Latvian University of Agriculture and the Lithuanian Vytautas Magnus University. The peer review was carried out by Dr A.M. Fullen, Professor at the University of Wolverhampton in England. The vegetation of the plants was studied for two years.

Result: with Scarabaeus technology, a 5-fold reduction in the rate of sapropel application resulted in yields comparable to the fertile Lithuanian soils.

A second field study was carried out in 2023 in the Spanish province of Almeria in the Tabernas Desert. With the Scarabaeus technology, an unproductive soil was modified to a fertile one to a level suitable for crop production. The soil improvers used were: granulated manure, vermicompost, sapropel and peat.

The research was carried out by the Arid Zone Experimental Station under a Technical Assistance Contract. A 5-fold reduction in the application rate of soil improvers resulted in yields that were better than those obtained on fertile Spanish soils. The Scarabaeus technology and the research carried out were presented on 25/01/2024 at an international teleconference attended by 29 eminent soil scientists and researchers from Europe, Africa, South America. Positive evaluations have been received. The technical incidents of the Scarabaeus machine in the Tabernas Desert have served as a basis for the modernisation of the machine. The methodological mistakes made have become important lessons learned. We now know the potential of the arid zone to become fertile 5 times cheaper.

The Scarabaeus machine has a capacity of 42 hectares per month for soil conditioner application. In this process, the Scarabaeus enables the application of 5 times less soil conditioner than the conventional application rate. This is also the case for traditional soil improvers such as granulated manure and vermicompost.

Granular manure and vermicompost are not massively used for the restoration of degraded or desertified soils with conventional technology, as such an investment in soil restoration is commercially unviable. The innovative technology Scarabaeus, which is 5 times cheaper, has a real chance to create a breakthrough in the development of non-productive soil modification. Scarabaeus technology can add the most value with a sapropel soil improver in arid zones where two to three harvests per year are possible.

GJ Magma Ltd operates sapropel and peat resources with permits to operate, patented technologies and industrial prototypes that have been tested in real-life environments. GJ Magma Ltd. has the technology for the production of high added value organic fertilisers from sapropel and peat. This is the company’s know-how. GJ Magma Ltd. has a competent team and a reliable partner for the production of technological equipment.

Research Supervisor at GJ Magma Ltd.: Dr. Ginutis Juozapavičius

Read an article about the technology in the Journal of Biotechnology & Bioresearch here.

Innovative soil modification technology for Scarabaeus: