A team of scientists from Novosibirsk State Technical University, NETI, commissioned by its industrial partner, S.Rostki Lab is developing a technology for the production of a biological product based on vermicompost. The company plans to produce the new product on an industrial scale this year.
The project is being implemented by LLC "S.Rostki Lab" with the support of the Siberian Biotechnological Scientific and Educational Center (SibbioNOC) and the City Center for Entrepreneurship Development. The company "S.Rostki Lab specializes in developments in the field of biotechnology (biologics for humans, plants, etc.) and actively cooperates with scientists of NSTU-NETI. The scientists were tasked with developing the composition and selecting the technological parameters of a new organic biological product (biofertilizer) based on vermicompost stabilized with a biopolymer carrier.
Earlier, the university created a smart home for worms in order to obtain organic fertilizers, so the team of specialists has accumulated significant experience in vermicomposting, said Alexander Drannikov, PhD, head of the Bioengineering Youth Integration Laboratory at NSTU-NETI. The vermicompost obtained as a result of waste processing by earthworms contains a variety of nutrients and is ideal for the development of new generation fertilizers. In addition, laboratory scientists have previously created a biodegradable chitosan-based gel to stabilize bacteria and their active components (metabolites), which allows for a slow and uniform release of nutrients, which means long-term effectiveness when applied to the soil.
A biopreparation based on vermicompost acts as a prolonged phytostimulator. It contains humic acids and beneficial bacteria loaded into a gel carrier, which ensures their high preservation, long-term activity in the soil and the gradual release of nutrients.
"In 2025, we developed the basic composition of a biological product (organic biofertilizer), investigated its microbiological stability and the stability of active components, and standardized it to determine key quality indicators that need to be monitored during production. A validation procedure will be performed to confirm that the same product is obtained with the same technology parameters. This process proves reproducibility with multiple repetitions of production cycles," said Alexander Drannikov.
In the current year, LLC "S.Rostki Lab will launch a technological approbation of the product on an industrial scale. For this purpose, the company has created a pilot industrial site on the basis of the Urban Entrepreneurship Development Center.
The final stage of the cooperation is a technological map for the production of a biological product based on vermicompost. The card guarantees the reproducibility of the process, allowing you to get a product with the specified characteristics in each batch.
Photo 1 — mixing of biofertilizer components, photo 2 — drying of biofertilizer, photo 3 — fractionation of biofertilizer, photo 4 — moisture measurement, photo 5 — samples of biofertilizer.