Experimental bioreactor to produce biopesticides using urban organic waste
The Decisive project is made up of a multidisciplinary consortium focused on designing and implementing innovative waste management systems, particularly focused on the management of the organic fraction of municipal waste (FORM). It is coordinated by the French Institut national de Recherche en Sciences et Technologies pour l'Environnement et l'Agriculture (IRSTEA) and includes the involvement of the compost research group GICOM of the UAB, as well as the Catalan company Aeris Tecnologies Ambientals, a UAB spin-off.
The objective of this experimental plant is to develop a decentralised management system for the organic fraction of municipal waste (FORM), while at the same time promote a local management system capable of facilitating the generation of products of interest for the ecological farming sector. Within this context, the project is studying two technologies: micro-anaerobic digestion and solid state fermentation. As the result of the digestion of this waste, a solid fraction called digested is generated and then valued through a solid state fermentation process for the production of biopesticides to be used in ecological farming.
The UAB and Aeris, in charge of the design, launch and operating of the solid state fermentation process for the production of biopesticides, reached an agreement with the Waste Management Consortium of the Vallès Oriental region to install a pilot plant at the Municipal Organic Fraction Waste Treatment Plant located in Granollers. The plant begins operating this week, following a start-up phase directed by researcher Laura Mejias, currently enrolled in an industrial PhD programme under the supervision of the UAB compost research group and the team at Aeris. The pilot plant will be working during 6 months.
The facilities in Granollers will be working in parallel to another waste treatment plant in Lyon, France, with a decentralised management of biological waste aiming to provide compost and electricity. The Lyon plant will be inaugurated on 14 November. Members of the UAB will also attend to share differences and similarities between the two technologies and projects in different parts of Europe.
