Summary
Recovered fertilizers (RFs), in the form of digestate and digestate-derived ammonium sulfate, were produced from organic wastes by thermophilic anaerobic digestion (AD) at full scale. RFs were then used for crop production (maize), substituting synthetic mineral fertilizers (SFs). Environmental impacts due to both RF and SF production and use were studied by a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach using, as much as possible, data directly measured at full scale. The functional unit chosen was referred to as the fertilization of 1 ha of maize, as this paper intends to investigate the impacts of the use of RF (Scenario RF) for crop fertilization compared to that of SF (Scenario SF). Scenario RF showed better environmental performances than the system encompassing the production and use of ure
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