Pig farms produce mountains of manure, and getting rid of it legally is expensive and messy. Most treatment systems cost a fortune and only work if the government chips in. A Spanish company built a compact unit that uses electrical pulses to strip out the nasty stuff — nitrogen, phosphorus, bacteria, viruses — right where the manure is produced. What comes out the other end is usable fertilizer and biomass you can burn for energy, turning a costly waste problem into something that actually makes money.
Intensive pig farms generate enormous volumes of manure that are expensive and difficult to dispose of legally. Current treatment technologies require massive upfront investment and typically depend on government subsidies to break even, leaving farmers stuck between regulatory pressure and unaffordable solutions.
A physical DEPURGAN demonstration unit — an optimized electrocoagulation reactor that treats pig slurry on-site, removing contaminants (nitrogen, phosphorus, metals, bacteria, viruses) and producing biomass fuel and NPK liquid fertilizer as valuable byproducts. The project delivered 2 total deliverables including the demo unit.
If you are a pig farm operator dealing with mounting manure disposal costs and tightening environmental regulations — this project developed the DEPURGAN unit, an on-site electrocoagulation system that treats slurry where it is produced. The initial investment is 4 times lower than competing solutions and operates without national subsidies, making it viable for commercial farms.
If you are a waste management company looking to expand into livestock waste services — this project built a proven treatment process that removes nitrogen, phosphorus, metals, bacteria, and viruses from pig slurry. The system produces a solid fraction with calorific value as biomass and a liquid NPK fertilizer, creating two revenue streams from one waste input.
If you are a fertilizer or bioenergy company seeking new feedstock sources — the DEPURGAN process converts pig manure into a solid biomass fraction suitable for energy recovery and an NPK liquid effluent ready for use as fertilizer. This turns a disposal liability at pig farms into a supply source for your products.
According to the project data, the DEPURGAN system requires an initial investment 4 times lower than comparable manure treatment solutions. Operating costs are described as very competitive, and critically, the system is designed to be profitable without relying on national subsidies.
The system was developed by EUROGAN SL, a company active in the livestock sector since 1964, specifically to address industrial-scale intensive farming operations. The technology treats pig slurry at its origin point, which means each farm installs its own unit rather than relying on centralized processing.
EUROGAN SL holds a patent on the manure treatment process. Any licensing or partnership arrangements would need to go through them directly. Based on available project data, the company developed this under the EU SME Instrument Phase 2, which supports close-to-market commercialization by SMEs.
The DEPURGAN process minimizes nitrogen, phosphorus, metals, bacteria, and viruses in the treated output. It was assessed against Best Available Technologies (BAT) standards for manure treatment. The resulting liquid effluent is described as NPK fertilizer-grade.
The system produces two outputs: a solid fraction with high calorific potential suitable for use as biomass fuel, and a liquid NPK effluent ready to be used as agricultural fertilizer. Both outputs have commercial value, turning a waste disposal cost into potential revenue.
The project ran from 2015 to 2017 under the EU SME Instrument Phase 2, which funds near-market innovations. A physical DEPURGAN demo unit was delivered as part of the project. The company behind it has over 50 years of experience in the livestock sector.
This is a single-company project — EUROGAN SL from Spain, a private SME that has been operating in the livestock equipment sector since 1964. The 100% industry consortium with zero universities or research institutes signals this is a commercially driven effort, not academic research. The SME Instrument Phase 2 funding confirms the EU assessed the technology as close to market. For a potential buyer or partner, this means you are dealing with an experienced equipment manufacturer, not a lab spinning out unproven science.
EUROGAN SL is the sole partner — contact their commercial team in Spain for licensing or purchasing inquiries.
Want an introduction to the DEPURGAN team? SciTransfer can connect you with the right person at EUROGAN and provide a detailed technology brief tailored to your operation.
