The Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) and the company Mafrica have been awarded the INNOVATION Award at the First Bioenergy Night, an event organized by the Bioenergy Cluster of Catalonia (CBC). The award recognizes the research project of both entities focused on the production of biogas from pig slaughterhouse waste.
The meat sector generates large quantities of by-products and waste not intended for human consumption, particularly in the pig sector. In response to this problem, IRTA and Mafrica have collaborated together with an Industrial Doctorates project to develop a recovery strategy that consists of the creation of a plant that optimizes the generation of biogas with this waste.
Belén Fernández, researcher of the Sustainability in Biosystems program and head of the project, especially thanked Anna Otero and her team colleagues for their work during the 2023 Bioenergy Awards ceremony. The research project has been carried out in collaboration with Mafrica and is oriented to Environmental Engineering, Bioprocesses and Life Cycle Assessment.
The project seeks not only the recovery of waste, but also its management. The production of biogas as a result of this project would replace a fossil fuel, thus contributing to the decarbonization of the economy. One of the specific objectives is the implementation of biogas production in the company, with special emphasis on self-supply of energy and/or energy efficiency.
In addition, the project is oriented towards the search for new by-products recoverable from waste. According to researcher Belén Fernández, the optimization and/or integration of new technologies together with those currently used in the company will be one of the key aspects of this research.
This project represents an example of how collaboration between research institutions and industry can lead to practical innovations that benefit both business and society at large. The Innovation Award at the First Bioenergy Night highlights the importance of these joint efforts in creating sustainable solutions to real problems. The IRTA and Mafrica project is an important step in this direction and can serve as an example for other sectors of the agri-food industry to follow. In fact, the work of IRTA and Mafrica contributes to the global goal of sustainability and the decarbonization of the economy, an effort that is recognized with this award for innovation.
You can consult information about the award on the IRTA website.