1. C. Aragon, A. Real, I. Martin, J. Parrado, P. Caballero
13st International Chemical and Biological Engineering Conference
Aveiro- Portugal, October 2nd-4th 2018
Water2Return: towards the total recovery of nutrients from the sewage water in a slaughterhouse
C. Aragon, A. Real, I. Martin, J. Parrado, P. Caballero

2. WHY Water2REturn?
Resources recovery from wastewater effluents → widely recognised as a valuable and efficient source of nutrients for use in agriculture.
21st century agriculture faces multiple challenges → feed a growing population of 9.1 billion people projected in 2050:
With a smaller rural labor force.
In a context of climate change and land limitations due to bioenergy crops production and soil degradation.
Food industry (specially the EU slaughtering sector) → characterised by:
High water and energy consumption.
Production of large amounts of waste and wastewater.
Chemical fertilisers → sector experiencing an unstoppable increase in demand, and their extensive use is problematic because:
They are associated with emissions of nitrous oxide → greenhouse gas.
They can cause eutrophication if they leach into water bodies, among other environmental problems.
CHEMPOR 2018/ October 2nd – 4th, 2018, Aveiro (Portugal)

3. WHY Water2REturn?
Current approach for treating slaughtering wastewater → in spite of all recognised benefits of adopting a Circular Economy approach, current practices tend to nutrients removal instead of recovery and recycling.
Water2REturn project (contract number ) is an Innovation Action built on a bottom-up approach based on current market demand co-funded by the European Commission under its Horizon programme:
Coordinated by BIOAZUL company (Malaga, Spain).
Starting date: 01/07/2017; end date: 31/12/2020 (42 months duration).
Budget: 7,129,322,00 € (EC contribution: 5,871,895,44 €).
Alternative and more sustainable approach → Water2REturn.
It faces the environmental and economic constraints of the slaughtering industry as a market opportunity.
It aims to adopt a Circular Economy approach to extract the maximum value from slaughterhouse wastes.
It makes possible to recover nutrients from slaughtering wastewater and turn them into value added products for the agricultural sector.
CHEMPOR 2018/ October 2nd – 4th, 2018, Aveiro (Portugal)

4. HOW? Water2REturn in a nutshell
Water2REturn proposes an integrated solution for slaughterhouse wastewater treatment, as well as for the recovery of nutrients with high market value in the agricultural sector. This Circular Economy approach turns wastewater treatment facilities into "bio-refineries“. 
CHEMPOR 2018/ October 2nd – 4th, 2018, Aveiro (Portugal)

5. WHAT? Water2REturn system
WATER LINE
SRM1: Nitrates concentrate
AP1: Organic fertiliser based on nitrates
SLUDGE LINE
SRM2: Hydrolysed sludge
AP2: Biostimulant based on Bacillus sp. biomass
ALGAE LINE
SRM3: Algal biomass
AP3: Biostimulant based on algal biomass
CHEMPOR 2018/ October 2nd – 4th, 2018, Aveiro (Portugal)

6. WHAT? Water2REturn system
Line 1 → water line.
Wastewater treatment and nitrates recovery.
Obtention of treated water, to be optimized for agricultural irrigation
Obtention of a nitrate concentrate → Secondary Raw Material 1 (SRM1).
Manufacturing of Agronomic Product 1 (AP1) → organic biofertiliser.
Line 2 → sludge line.
Upgrading of the sludge generated in the water line through a fermentation process with Bacillus sp.
Obtention of:
Solid fraction → SRM2.
Manufacturing of AP2 → biostimulant.
Liquid fraction → to be upgraded through an anaerobic digestion process.
Energy production → methane.
CHEMPOR 2018/ October 2nd – 4th, 2018, Aveiro (Portugal)

7. WHAT? Water2REturn system
Line 3 → algae line.
Capturing of the CO2 released from the anaerobic digestion unit of the sludge line.
Obtention of micro-algae biomass → SRM3.
Manufacturing of AP3 → biostimulant.
All APs will be usable in conventional and potentially also in organic agriculture.
Demonstration site → real working slaughterhouse called “Matadero del Sur”, located in Salteras, near Seville (Spain).
Treatment capacity → 50 m3 per day (out of the 150 m3 of the slaughterhouse wastewater daily flow).
CHEMPOR 2018/ October 2nd – 4th, 2018, Aveiro (Portugal)

8. WHOM is Water2REturn for?
CHEMPOR 2018/ October 2nd – 4th, 2018, Aveiro (Portugal)

9. WHICH are the expected results?
1 integrated treatment + nutrients & energy recovery system / 3 separated process units (water line, sludge line, algae line) + energy recovery module.
Future end users may decide which module(s) they want to install according to their needs and expectations.
Product valorisation for agronomic use – formulation and optimisation of the 3 APs, field tests for agronomic efficiency, APs manufacturing.
Environmental, economic, social and risk assessments (LCA, LCC, social footprinting, quantification of eco- efficiency of the technologies, quantitative risk assessment of potential hazards for humans).
Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA) of the overall process.
EU Environmental Technology Verification (ETV).
Analysis of end users need and market uptake at EU level – stakeholders engagement and consultation, market potential, recommendations to EU and national regulators, business plan implementation.
WHICH are the expected results?
CHEMPOR 2018/ October 2nd – 4th, 2018, Aveiro (Portugal)

10. WHERE is the consortium from?
Water2REturn consortium is made up of 15 multidisciplinary actors: 9 SMEs, 2 EU associations and 4 research institutions.
Water2REturn brings together the experience from stakeholders covering the whole value chain in eight EU countries:
Spain.
Portugal.
Slovenia.
Romania.
Italy.
Belgium.
Germany.
United Kingdom.
CHEMPOR 2018/ October 2nd – 4th, 2018, Aveiro (Portugal)

11. WHO makes Water2REturn possible?
Water2REturn consortium counts with:
Experts in wastewater treatment and nutrients recovery, sludge valorisation and energy production.
Agronomic products manufacturers.
Potential end-users of the resulting nutrients recovery system (meat industry association at EU level) and the APs (landowners organisation representing EU farmers).
An agricultural cooperative that will test the three APs in its own land.
CHEMPOR 2018/ October 2nd – 4th, 2018, Aveiro (Portugal)

12. HOW can you join Water2REturn community?
Water2Return consortium has launched several questionnaires in multiple languages (EN, FR, DE, ES, IT, NL, SL, PT) to engage relevant stakeholders.
They have been customised for each of the 5 stakeholders groups identified as the most relevant for the project:
Farmers.
Slaughtering industry.
Fertilisers industry.
Wastewater treatment industry.
Consumers and NGOs.
The aim is to build a community of relevant people around Water2REturn Circular Economy approach with the purpose of facilitating discussion and fostering dialogue on cross-cutting challenges identified by the project.
HOW can you join Water2REturn community?
CHEMPOR 2018/ October 2nd – 4th, 2018, Aveiro (Portugal)

13. WHERE can you find more information on Water2REturn?
CHEMPOR 2018/ October 2nd – 4th, 2018, Aveiro (Portugal)

14. Thanks for your attention!
Isabel Martin
CENTA
CHEMPOR 2018/ October 2nd – 4th, 2018, Aveiro (Portugal)