Raw materials are becoming scarce, so we need to think circularly and minimise waste. That is why the Dutch water authorities are working in numerous ways to extract valuable raw materials from residual water and wastewater. Kaumera Nereda® Gum Researchers at Delft University of Technology discovered that a new type of raw material can be…
Plant diseases, though a normal part of nature, can have disastrous effects in agriculture. They reduce food for people and revenues in rural areas. In the worst cases they result in hunger and starvation, as many famines in history show. About 16% of all crops are lost to plant diseases each year across the world. The…
Plastic has become fundamental in agriculture. The total consumption of plastic films for agricultural purposes in Europe exceeded 500.000 metric tons in 2013. Existing semi-intensive and intensive farming practices require the use of large quantities of plastic mulching film and fruit protection bags (and clips to close them) as they help prevent the growth of…
Most of today’s fresh as well as convenience food is sold in plastic packages. These packages need to account for a number of functions such as preserving hygienic conditions or enabling long shelf-life. Although many plastic packages can be recycled today, most are still based on fossil sources. In order to reduce the environmental impact…
IProPBio is a project funded by MSCA-RISE-2017: Research and Innovation Staff Exchange of the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme. It includes nine EU beneficiaries, seven of which are Universities, one research center, one company and three Third Countries, namely the United States, Mexico and Brazil. The project has a budget of 594,000 € and a time…
SUSFERTs highly sustainable bio-based fertilisers will replace conventional products, which are depending heavily on imported rock phosphate, and will valorise waste and by-products of several industries to strengthen the European circular economy. To meet the ever-rising demand for food and feed, the European agriculture currently still depends heavily on the use of non-renewable, resource-intense fertilisers.…
Through the use of innovative technologies, the LIFE Methamorphosis project enables to obtain reclaimed water with lower energy consumption and also to produce biomethane from municipal and agro-industrial waste for the transport sector. LIFE Methamorphosis is a project co-funded by the European Union within the framework of the LIFE Programme, to promote the environment and…
LIFECAB is a R&D project, co-funded by the EU LIFE Program (LIFE16 ENV/IT/000179), which aims to demonstrate a new process to treat municipal biowaste (MBW) and produce soluble bioorganic substances (SBO). These substances will be used as additives for anaerobic fermentation reactors, with reduced entrepreneurial risk, in three different EU countries (Italy, Greece, Cyprus), to…
The REHAP project is transforming agricultural and forestry waste into high added value products for the construction sector, reducing energy-use and CO2 emissions. Agricultural and forestry residues are being used in many new innovative ways, with the bio-based chemical industry now showing greater growth than the petrochemical industry. The development of chemicals and materials from lignocellulosic…
Ingelia Italia S.p.a. announces the development of a commercial Hydrothermal Carbonization in Tuscany, Italy, which will process 80,000 tn/y of civil sewage sludge. The plant, developed and designed by Ingelia for ACEA, will be the largest designed so far, and it will transform sewage sludge in two high value products: a biolignite, and a biofertilizer,…