The new plant, located in the western district of Navia, has emerged with the aim of managing waste from the major Asturian livestock industry, via renewable energies, thus reducing its environmental impact.
By means of the collaboration agreements that the Biogastur company holds with Central Lechera Asturiana, this innovative project is introduced in the field of renewable energies, which will constitute an improvement for both livestock farmers and the environment, as well as generating employment. It is estimated that the implementation of this project, which is based on the circular economy model of using industrial waste to generate sub-products, will enable the annual elimination of 34,000 tonnes of CO2, representing a large amount of polluting material and clearly contributing to the reduction of conventional energy consumption in the setting, as well as enabling the creation of a top-quality fertilising product.
According to company indications, the slurry treatment process is simple. First the organic material is introduced – from livestock faeces to waste or agro-food industry sub-products – into two large tanks where it decomposes biologically in a completely natural and controlled way via a process called anaerobic digestion. Biogas is produced from this process, which will be used as an ecological fuel in high-efficiency engines to produce energy. Digestate is also produced: this digestate is separated later in its liquid part, which becomes water once treated, whilst following a drying process its solid part becomes a high-quality ecological fertiliser. As such, only electricity, high-quality fertiliser and water will be produced on the plant, with no waste products generated.
This kind of innovative project, based on the circular economy and that obtain clean energy production, will undoubtedly favour the complex balance that comprises the growth of production levels and the reduction of the industrial environmental footprint.