The University of León and Acciona Agua, a leading wastewater treatment company, have together developed a pilot facility to evaluate the process of co-digesting sludge at wastewater treatment plants.

This pilot plant, located in the Spanish province of Caceres, is part of the ESPROFAN project, whose goal is to improve and boost the capacity of current digestion treatments.

The co-digestion plant opens up possibilities for performing speedy, real-time evaluations of complex digestion processes in waste mixes, at the same time that it underscores the need to increase the productivity of current digestion systems used in many plants. It will also increase the value of organic waste which can be used to efficiently produce biogas.

Acciona Agua seeks to cut the cost of managing wastewater facilities and reduce the amount of solid waste and CO2 emissions that they produce, in order to minimize the environmental impact of these plants.

The plant’s size is flexible given its modular construction. This allows it to treat different types of waste and makes it easier to connect quickly to wastewater treatment systems. It also includes a pre-treatment unit to sanitize the waste.

The Universidad de León and Acciona Agua, a leading company in the water treatment sector, are spearheading this Spanish project.