Dairy manure biorefineries and reclaimed water use in the Rhine–Meuse Delta

Dairy manure biorefineries are emerging as a systems solution to nutrient surpluses, greenhouse gas mitigation, and water scarcity in the Rhine-Meuse Delta of Northwestern Europe. This article evaluates integrated configurations that combine anaerobic digestion, nutrient recovery, and high-quality reclaimed water for agricultural substitution of freshwater. The objective is to quantify techno-economic performance and environmental co-benefits under hydrological and regulatory constraints. Using open statistical sources for the period 2010-2024 and a modeling framework, we estimate methane yields, nutrient recovery, water substitution potential, costs, and emissions abatement. Three representative pathways are compared: centralized combined heat and power with solidliquid separation, farm-scale biomethane with ammonia capture, and membrane-polished effluent producing irrigation water and phosphorus salts. Results indicate that reclaimed water from manure biorefineries can meet a share of irrigation demand while reducing nitrogen and phosphorus losses and displacing fossil energy. The analysis provides transferable evidence for circular resource strategies in deltaic dairy regions.

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