This time, the headquarters of the follow-up meeting of Valorcomp project was the Polytechnic Institute of Braganza, institution that hosted the meeting on June 12. Representatives of all the partners attended the meeting with the presence of the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB, Principal Beneficiary), CIDAUT Foundation, University of Valladolid (UVa), Resíduos do Nordeste and Nertatec.
The main objective was the technical review of the progress in those ongoing activities, as well as communication and project coordination activities.
The review started with CIDAUT´s presentation of the densified compost results. The different tests carried out and satisfactory final results were shown. The use of a mould specially designed for the densification process of refining and rejection of stabilized biowaste samples was highlighted. IPB continued with the progress in the synthesis of adsorbent materials and the need to modify the experimental installation to achieve a better performance. Subsequently, IPB presented the advances in obtaining catalyst materials and the clear problem of excessive loss of material. IPB was also in charge of exposing the results in obtaining ecological bricks, the problems associated with the odor of compost in the bricks and the results of fire resistance tests. Finally, the UVa showed the results of extraction of nutrients for the agronomic use of the compost by means of extraction techniques using water, KOH and HNO3 and evaluating the organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus recovered. Within this task, IPB concluded with the presentation of the work done in the use of leached water and the need to reduce heterogeneity, alkalinity and certain metals such as Cr and Cd.
Once the technical review of the tasks was completed, a review of the most relevant issues of project coordination and the launch of the COOPERA 2020 coordination platform was made. The last part of the meeting was about dissemination activities of the results. It is important to note the presence of VALORCOMP in the 4th International Congress on Water, Waste and Energy Management (EWWM) to be held in Madrid from 18-20 July 2018 and the 15th European Workshop on Lignocellulosics and Pulp (EWLP 2018) which will take place in Aveiro from June 26 to 29, 2018.
To conclude, all the partners were summoned to an upcoming meeting in September at the facilities of Resíduos do Nordeste, and on behalf of IPB, a visit was made to their laboratories and facilities, which allowed the Spanish partners to learn more about their capabilities.
This project is co-financed by the programme of cooperation INTERREG V-A Spain-Portugal (POCTEP) 2014-2020 and will run until September 2019. Project VALORCOMP aims to contribute cooperatively to solve cross-border problems in the valorisation of waste generated in the treatment of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste.
Tags: VALORCOMP, compost, residues, POCTEP