dr.ir. OF (Oscar) Schoumans

Oscar Schoumans is a senior researcher at Wageningen Environmental Research (Wageningen University & Research) with a strong background in soil chemistry, environmental science, and nutrient recovery technologies. After earning his MSc in Soil Chemistry, Soil Fertility and Computer Science at Wageningen Agricultural University, he completed his PhD with a focus on environmental phosphorus losses from agriculture.

He has extensive expertise in soil chemistry, environmental science, and technologies for nutrient recovery from waste streams. His early research focused on phosphate accumulation and nutrient leaching to groundwater and surface waters, conducted at various scales ranging from laboratory experiments to international studies.

At a broader scale, Schoumans has carried out monitoring and modelling studies to assess changes in nutrient management practices, aiming to reduce nutrient emissions from agricultural land. This work has provided critical support for the development of policy and management strategies for rural areas and river catchments. He has developed numerous tools and methodologies to assist in nutrient management and, owing to his expertise, has been deeply involved in European projects addressing agricultural nutrient emissions, including COST Actions and the EU project EUROHARP. He has also contributed to scientific committees for international conferences.

Since 2010, his research has increasingly focused on closing the nutrient cycle and valorising organic waste streams, such as manure. This includes recovering nutrients from organic residues and promoting the reuse of processed and recovered products. Together with farmers’ organizations, SMEs, and industrial partners, he led the four-year project Valorisation of Manure and Nutrient Recovery (2013–2016), aimed at producing alternative phosphate fertilizers to replace finite natural phosphate resources. Following successful laboratory and pilot-scale tests, a follow-up project (2017–2020) advanced the development and optimization of a demonstration plant for phosphate recovery and organic matter valorisation. With EU funding, a large-scale facility was constructed at a biogas plant, processing 80,000 tonnes of digested manure annually. This facility forms part of the H2020 Innovation Action project SYSTEMIC, alongside four other large-scale facilities across Europe.

Within the H2020 project FERTIMANURE, Schoumans concentrated on producing tailor-made fertilizers (TMFs) derived from processed waste streams, recovered biobased fertilizers, and mineral fertilizers. In addition, he has made significant contributions toward establishing an evaluation framework for organic fertilizers.

Oscar Schoumans effectively combines scientific excellence with practical application, playing a pivotal role in national and European initiatives to promote sustainable nutrient cycles in agriculture.