Una biofactoría transformará los residuos de la depuradora como alternativa sostenible al petróleo - Ourense, Galicia, España - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

Mj Álvarez Ourense 20.02.2019 | 02:18
The president of the Xunta and authorities, with Viaqua technicians, during the visit to the new biofactory system. // Iñaki Osorio
The president of the Xunta and authorities, with Viaqua technicians, during the visit to the new biofactory system. // Iñaki Osorio
The new facilities of the Reza Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) are already the base of operations for a technological system that manages to transform the sludge produced during the treatment process into products with high added value, based on carbon, which can be used by the chemical industry.

The objective is to ensure that the waste generated by the population of Ourense and that is treated in the WWTP is reconverted into an alternative to the petroleum derivatives currently used, and can be used as raw material for the manufacture of a multitude of products, such as plastics, cleaning products, adhesives or paints. Ourense thus aspires to be a biofactory by implementing new models based on the reuse of water, energy self-sufficiency and the recovery of waste.

A 1.8 million project

This project, which becomes a pioneer in what is called Circular Economy, that is, a zero-emission strategy that allows advanced societies to reuse the waste it generates, is possible thanks to the implementation until 2021 in the WWTP of Reza de la a Joint Unit of the Center for Innovation for Advanced Systems in Wastewater Treatment, CIGAT-Biofactory.

The project has a budget of 1.8 million euros and is consolidated through the collaboration of Viaqua and Cetaqua Galicia together with the Galician Innovation Agency , a model of public-private collaboration that began in 2015 with the creation of the Mixed Unit CIGAT (Center for the Innovation of Advanced Water Treatment Systems) through its new Biofactory project.

The President of the Galician Government, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the President of the Provincial Council, Manuel Baltar, the Mayor of Ourense, Jesús Vázquez, the territorial delegate of the Xunta , Marisol Díaz Mouteira, and the technicians of all the entities mentioned, including the Director General of Viaqua, Julio Masid, as well as representatives of Cetaqua Galicia together with the Galician Innovation Agency yesterday visited this new treatment model, "an initiative that will make the Ourense WWTP, the treatment plant of the third city of Galicia, into a true biofactory: fostering the circular economy, promoting a cleaner and more efficient industry and helping more efficient water management ", said the president of the Xunta.

Alberto Núñez Feijóo highlighted the work of this center and its contribution to the effort that has been made by the Xunta throughout these ten years so that water management in Galicia is done in a responsible, efficient and sustainable way, with the participation of all Galician society .

In this line, he recalled that since 2009 an improvement in the sewage treatment systems for wastewater treatment has been promoted, which allowed 76% of the water bodies to be currently in an optimal ecological state. "For that, more than 1,100 million euros were invested in sanitation and supply, in addition to the construction of 45 new treatment plants."

Núñez Feijóo highlighted that since 2014, the year in which the program of mixed units was launched, 39 research alliances or consortia have already been formed between 13 knowledge centers and 33 companies from various sectors, with a mobilization of 114 million euros , and that employ about 580 professionals.

"We are an environmental benchmark"

For his part, the mayor of Ourense, Jesús Vázquez, pointed out that this project that is now being launched in the Ourense Wastewater Treatment Plant, thanks to the co-financing of Viaqua and the Xunta, only has precedents, similar systems, implemented in cities like Granada and Barcelona, ??in the case of Spain, and already abroad, in Chile. He added that "this biofactory is novel at a national and international level and Ourense is going to consolidate itself as a benchmark in the field of innovation and environmental care".

Type of publication: Newspaper When was the article reported?: 02/20/2019 Publication: Faro de Vigo Article Url: [Web Link] Is Registration Required?: no How widespread was the article reported?: regional News Category: Editorial

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