Background Pollution from agriculture is a major pressure on Europe’s freshwater resources. Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous) from fertilisers, pesticides, organic material, pathogenic micro-organisms in sediment and micropollutants are washed into waterways. This is especially the case in areas with intense rainfall and poorly drained soils. In some river basins, the high nitrate concentration levels can even promote eutrophication in receiving coastal waters. The EU Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) was adopted to protect waters against pollution caused/induced by nitrates from agricultural sources. However, nitrate pollution of water bodies remains a problem. According to Eurostat data (2009), although nationally averaged nitrate concentrations were well below the Nitrates Directive limit (50 mg/L), the value was exceeded at about 13% of the measuring points. Exceedance of limits was most significant in Belgium (30%), Denmark (26%), Spain (22%) and Cyprus (19%). Other countries including Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic , Germany and Montenegro also had high exceedance levels. Objectives LIFE STO3RE will implement an innovative and cost-efficient technology to protect aquatic environments against pollution caused by diffusion of nitrates and micropollutants. The technology will allow conversion of manure and sludge from waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) into a high environmental quality biofertiliser. The technology is called CavO3+DAG-TPAD (dual acid-gas temperature phased anaerobic digestion configuration coupled with ozone oxidation and hydrothermal cavitation). It was developed in a previous R&D project (Sludge4Energy), carried out by FACSA and co-funded by Spain's Competitiveness and Economy Ministry. STO3RE will test this technology in a newly-developed demonstration plant that will centralise the treatment of secondary sludge from small WWTPs and cattle manure from surrounding farms. The facility will be located in Totana (Murcia, Spain) and be able to deal with sewage sludge from five surrounding WWTPs (Aledo, Librilla, Alhama, Mazarrón and Puerto Lumbreras) and several farms, covering an area of about 2 700 square kilometres. The total amount of sewage sludge treated in the demonstration plant is expected to reach 5-10 cubic metres of mixed substrate per day. Expected results: The project expects to produce the following main results: A reduction of uncontrolled nitrogen pollution of water bodies, and therefore a reduction in eutrophication episodes; A reduction in waste generation from farms and small WWTPs, because of the use of by-products for obtaining energy and biofertiliser; the volume of waste generated will be cut by 20%, and the dehydration capacity of sludge will be increased by 15-25%, reducing reagent and logistics costs associated with sludge management; The CavO3+DAG-TPAD technology will enable an increase in the elimination ratios of basic contaminants (salmonella, clostridium perfringens and e-coli) in sewage sludge treatment. The removal of these pollutants will increase by 50%. Through the use of the new biofertiliser, soil quality will be improved and a 50% increase in crop yield is expected; and A reduction of greenhouse gas emissions due to: (i) natural biogas emissions from stored manure will be avoided because of its treatment in the demonstration plant (300 kg CO2-equivalent/tonne cattle manure); (ii) the biogas obtained will be used as a substitute for fossil fuels for supplying heat and power to the demonstration plant (2.61 kg CO2-equivalent/litre of diesel).