Also a participant is the space formed by the Portuguese consortium Águas do Centro Litoral and Finnova Foundation
- The final objective is to maximize the production of biogas as renewable energy and increase the energy self-sufficiency of the treatment plants
- LIFE-ECOdigestion 2.0: a key project to achieve the circular economy in WWTP
- Global Omnium is leading the LIFE project in which a consortium formed by the Portuguese Águas do Centro Litoral and the Finnova Foundation participates.
Valencia ( November 10, 2020) .- The European Commission has awarded a LIFE – ECOdigestion 2.0 (LIFE19 ENV / ES / 000098) for the development of a tool that promotes the circular economy in the wastewater treatment sector , through the production of electrical energy and heat from the biogas generated by the co-digestion of WWTP waste and sludge .
The project, with a budget of 971,420 euros, of which the European Union finances 55%, is coordinated by the Global Omnium company and the Portuguese Águas do Centro Litoral and the Finnova Foundation , based in Brussels, participate as partners .
LIFE-ECOdigestion 2.0 aims to increase the energy self-sufficiency of WWTP with renewable energy, while maximizing the energy recovery contained in the waste, within the framework of the implementation of European circular economy policies in the integral water cycle.
The results to be obtained throughout this project have aroused great interest in the wastewater treatment sector, as evidenced by the support of various companies from the public and private sectors.
“After the experience with the previous LIFE13 ENV / ES / 000377 on a pilot scale, the knowledge acquired will be adapted to the real needs of the digesters, as well as a new programming architecture adapted to industry 4.0 will be designed, in addition to its migration to the cloud, which allows its commercialization and installation in full-scale plants as a totally autonomous system ”, explain the project participants.
LIFE-ECOdigestion 2.0 lasts 42 months and will be implemented in 2 WWTPs, one located in Spain and the other in Portugal. In both WWTPs, the tool resulting from the project for the co-digestion of agri-food waste will be demonstrated on a real scale.
The importance of energy recovery from waste
The application of the technology developed in the LIFE-ECOdigestion 2.0 project will entail a notable improvement in the operation of WWTP with anaerobic digesters, as it will reduce the costs of wastewater treatment. In addition, it will optimize the production of biogas on demand according to the needs at all times and will help to comply with the regulations regarding the production of renewable energies, on the circular economy or international agreements on emission limits, such as the Paris Agreement.
About the EU LIFE program
The LIFE program is the only financial instrument of the European Union that exclusively finances projects related to the conservation of the environment. Among its objectives are to help advance towards a resource efficient, low carbon and climate resilient economy and to improve the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental and climate policy and legislation of the Union.