Periodic Reporting for period 4 - SABANA (Sustainable Algae Biorefinery for Agriculture aNd Aquaculture)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2020-12-01 al 2021-11-30
SABANA demonstrated the reliability of large-scale integrated microalgae-based biorefineries for the production of biostimulants, biopesticides and feed additives, in addition to biofertilizers and aquafeed, using only marine water and nutrients from wastewaters (sewage, centrate and pig manure). The project concludes with the development of different zero-waste processes at a demonstration-scale, several hectares, sustainable both environmentally and economically. A Demonstration Centre (0.5 ha) of microalgae-based biorefineries has been set up and is operated to demonstrate the technologies, assess the operating characteristics of the systems, evaluate environmental impacts and collaborate with potential customers for their implementation and use. This centre is now part of the PILOT4U platform supported by the EU, and new EU projects are currently being developed on it. More relevant, one industrial facility up to 1.7 ha is in operation for the production of clean microalgae biomass for agriculture and aquaculture related applications in Almeria (Spain), whereas two other facilities of 3.0 and 2.0 ha are in operation in Mérida and Hellin (Spain), respectively, for wastewater treatment coupled to microalgae biomass production also for agriculture uses. The industrial facilities confirm the reliability of proposed technologies in addition to the economic, environmental and social benefits of implementing them. To notice that the industrial facility installed in Hellin is the first facility in the world performing the complete treatment of wastewater of this city using microalgae related technologies. In summary, the SABANA project complete some of the most relevant demonstrators of microalgae related processes around the world.
The key advantages of technologies and processes developed as part of the SABANA project are (i) the sustainability of the developed processes allowing to use of seawater or wastewater thus avoiding the utilization of usable freshwater, and recovering nutrients from sewage and manure, while minimizing energy consumption, and (ii) the socio-economic benefits, due to the relevance of the target bioproducts for two major pillars in food production as agriculture and aquaculture. Bioproducts capable of increasing the yield of crops and fish production are highly demanded, whereas recovery of nutrients is a priority issue in the EU. Instead of considering wastewater as an inevitably useless and problematic residue of our society, the SABANA project demonstrates its potential as an opportunity for economically relevant sectors. The SABANA project has addressed (i) the utilization of microalgae-bacteria consortia and in co-culture with other algae to control grazing species, (ii) the implementation of efficient thin-layer cascade and raceway, (iii) the scale-up of bioreactors to ensure stable operation, (iv) the use of marine water to increase the sustainability of the process; (v) the recovery of nutrients from wastewaters, (vi) the development of harvesting processes taking into account the remaining water, (vii) the establishment of processes for mild/energy efficient extraction of bioproducts, (viii) the processing of residual biomass to produce biofertilizers and aquafeed in zero-waste schemes, (ix) using robust and sustainable technology.
The key advantages of technologies and processes developed as part of the SABANA project are (i) the sustainability of the developed processes allowing to use of seawater or wastewater thus avoiding the utilization of usable freshwater, and recovering nutrients from sewage and manure, while minimizing energy consumption, and (ii) the socio-economic benefits, due to the relevance of the target bioproducts for two major pillars in food production as agriculture and aquaculture. Bioproducts capable of increasing the yield of crops and fish production are highly demanded, whereas recovery of nutrients is a priority issue in the EU. Instead of considering wastewater as an inevitably useless and problematic residue of our society, the SABANA project demonstrates its potential as an opportunity for economically relevant sectors. The SABANA project has addressed (i) the utilization of microalgae-bacteria consortia and in co-culture with other algae to control grazing species, (ii) the implementation of efficient thin-layer cascade and raceway, (iii) the scale-up of bioreactors to ensure stable operation, (iv) the use of marine water to increase the sustainability of the process; (v) the recovery of nutrients from wastewaters, (vi) the development of harvesting processes taking into account the remaining water, (vii) the establishment of processes for mild/energy efficient extraction of bioproducts, (viii) the processing of residual biomass to produce biofertilizers and aquafeed in zero-waste schemes, (ix) using robust and sustainable technology.
Most relevant activities performed includes: (i) techno-economic analysis of microalgae related processes proposed and finally implemented at demo scale, (ii) sustainability, risk analysis and social acceptance evaluation of proposed technologies, (iii) development of new technologies for the construction, operation, control and management of microalgae related production systems, including the reuse of effluents and contaminated waters, (iv) the development of low cost and low impact technologies for harvesting microalgae but especially to recirculate water as a necessary strategy to achieve sustainable processes, (v) the development of simplified biomass processing strategies to obtain valuable products for agriculture and aquaculture using the whole biomass, (vi) the identification of most valuable microalgae strains for target applications including their characterization and development of advanced methods for the monitoring of industrial facilities, (vii) the demonstration of benefits of end-products both for agriculture and aquaculture thus helping to improve the sustainability of current foods production systems, and (viii) facilitate the transference of knowledge to academia and companies but also to general public to increase the acceptance of proposed technologies and their final implementation.
It is noticeable the large effort performed by BIORIZON to build an industrial facility capable to produce specific microalgae strains for agriculture and aquaculture related applications, implementing last advances related to reactors design and construction. AQUALIA was capable to complete two new industrial facilities devoted to microalgae related wastewater treatment, one of them being the first industrial demo plant performing this process as the only alternative for wastewater treatment at Hellin (Spain). The new facilities include microalgae harvesting and processing. In this sense, GEA and KIT have done extensive research analysing the different technologies and being able to implement and evaluate them. The overall performance of the new facilities was evaluated by other partners involved in the project, such as IMIC, SZE, BEA, UAL and UNIMI. A deep analysis of the microalgae cultures was performed in the three industrial demo facilities. In collaboration with BIORIZON and UNIMI, it was possible to complete the economic and environmental analysis of these industrial facilities. A large effort was developed by CIB to evaluate the social acceptance of the microalgae related processes developed. Other relevant activities completed include the selection and characterization of microalgae strains and the development of advanced methods for the evaluation of microalgae cultures. The demonstration of final products in real field trials and demonstration of their marketability was also a highly relevant activity carried out by AIA and BIORIZON.
It is noticeable the large effort performed by BIORIZON to build an industrial facility capable to produce specific microalgae strains for agriculture and aquaculture related applications, implementing last advances related to reactors design and construction. AQUALIA was capable to complete two new industrial facilities devoted to microalgae related wastewater treatment, one of them being the first industrial demo plant performing this process as the only alternative for wastewater treatment at Hellin (Spain). The new facilities include microalgae harvesting and processing. In this sense, GEA and KIT have done extensive research analysing the different technologies and being able to implement and evaluate them. The overall performance of the new facilities was evaluated by other partners involved in the project, such as IMIC, SZE, BEA, UAL and UNIMI. A deep analysis of the microalgae cultures was performed in the three industrial demo facilities. In collaboration with BIORIZON and UNIMI, it was possible to complete the economic and environmental analysis of these industrial facilities. A large effort was developed by CIB to evaluate the social acceptance of the microalgae related processes developed. Other relevant activities completed include the selection and characterization of microalgae strains and the development of advanced methods for the evaluation of microalgae cultures. The demonstration of final products in real field trials and demonstration of their marketability was also a highly relevant activity carried out by AIA and BIORIZON.
In summary, the SABANA project concludes with the demonstration of up to four different microalgae facilities, in total summarizing 6.7 ha, all of them contributing to demonstrating the reliability of microalgae-based industrial processes. The target compounds were already validated, biostimulants and biopesticides developed demonstrating an increase in foods production by agriculture (>15%) while reducing the consumption of fertilisers (<10%) among other advantages. Related to aquaculture, the feed additives developed based on microalgae allows improving the “health” of fishes, increasing their tolerance to adverse stress conditions or low quality feeds. Both products and production technologies developed were demonstrated on a real scale at (i) the R&D facility operated by the University of Almeria, now it being part of Pilot4U platform (0.5 ha, Almeria-Spain), (ii) the production facility operated by Biorizon Biotech (1.7 ha, Almería-Spain) for the production of microalgae using clean water and fertilizers, and (iii) the wastewater treatment facilities operated by FCC Aqualia (3.0 ha, Merida-Spain; 2.0 ha, Hellin-Spain) for the simultaneous production of microalgae biomass coupled to wastewater treatment processes.