Production and recovery of high value-added by-products in waste water
CIGAT’s Biofactory project seeks to capture and produce high value-added by-products
from waste streams, thus contributing to a circular economy. In order to achieve this goal, it focuses on two technological lines: recovering polyphenols and producing volatile fatty acids (VFAs).
Two technologies were validated on a laboratory scale in 2020, and three pilots were installed to begin the demonstration phase. For the first line, thanks to the implementation of a demonstration prototype in the Martín Códax winery, work has been done with the liquid and solid by-products generated in the different phases of the winemaking process to extract polyphenols, high-value resources that are in high demand in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food. For the second line, the production of VFAs, two pilot prototypes were designed and built: one installed at Conservas Dardo to recover liquid industrial wastewater from the canning industry, and the second at the Ourense wastewater treatment plant for the recovery of sludge from urban wastewater treatment plants.
In addition, this project has filed the patent for the polyphenol technology line and is currently preparing innovation proposals for the development of the corresponding patents for the VFA line.
