NEWSLETTER N. 4 / 2011

Transcription

1 NEWSLETTER N. 4 / Energetic valuation: production of biogas by means of anaerobic co-digestion of organic residues or by-products proceeding from the food-processing industry. Summary The present article approaches the principal aspects of the production of biogas using byproducts or residues proceeding from the food-processing industry: technical characteristics of the residues/by-products, advantages of the co-digestion, basic characteristics of the systems of co-digestion and use of the digestate. 1. Introduction An ecosystem is something more that simple "place or environment for living". An ecosystem, in his more wide conception, consists of four areas in narrow interaction: air, water, land and life, which are named respectively atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere (De Rosnay, 1975). The flows of materials, inside or between these areas are totally tied between them. In the ideal ecosystem at any one time it arises the man, who with his agriculture, industry and economy has modified little by little balances that existed before his existence (De Rosnay, 1975). In wide sense, the economic function of the human society appears from the correct production of goods and services to satisfy the needs of the human beings. The two principal economic agents are the producers (whose unit is the company) and the consumers (whose unit are the particular homes). Other agents are the financial entities, the public administrations and the exterior markets. These agents with his action are capable of controlling, leading and orientating the flows of energy and of circulating money in the economic system. In this way, the basis of the ecological system is an irreversible flow of solar power in unlimited quantity and a permanent recycling of materials; an irreversible flow of fossil energy proceeding from a limited source and the irreversible displacement of materials proceeding from not renewable resources warehouses. From the economic point of view, the functions of the environment in the economic activity are: 1. Supplier of natural resources for the productive process. 2. Recipient of wastes proceeding from the manufacturing processes and consumers. The flow of materials returned to the environment like wastes must be equal to the flow of productive factors that the environment provides to the economic activity, except for those from the recycling processes. These terms mean the principle of balance of the materials. Thi

2 2 s balance model implies two facts: 1. Wastes do not have to be necessarily pollutant. 2. Nature has a certain capacity of regeneration, so that a limited utilization can avoid his degradation. In the moment in which the adsorption capacity of wastes by nature is overcome, the problem of the pollution arises in economic terms. The above mentioned wastes constitute a basic element of our society which we cannot resign, for the present, since any human or industrial activity is generating them. Nevertheless, we have to be conscious nowadays, it is necessary to coexist with them, and therefore we all are forced from a social perspective to give them an exit as suitable as possible, that is to assume our responsibility on those ones. The Spanish government, to determine the priorities and criteria for the waste management in Spain, promulgated the Law 10/98 of April 21, of wastes. These priorities and criteria are derived from the wastes' politics of the European Union and, especially, from the contained in the Board 91/156/CEE, in relation to wastes. The Action Program of the European Union "Towards a Sustainable Development ", establishes the strategy of waste management, indicating a hierarchy of management options, according to the following order of priority: 1. Reduction. 2. Reuse. 3. Recovery of materials. 4. Energetic Valuation. 5. Elimination when the previous ones are not possible. In relation to the above-mentioned Law 10/98, it is possible to consider as by-product or secondary product to any good or service (definitively "product"), whose production and commercialization is not the principal aim of the company where it is manufactured. On the other hand, waste or residue can be defined as "Any substance or object that its holder detaches or has the obligation of detaching, dealing with the actual dispositions". We can classify the wide variety of existing wastes under the following big groups: agricultural, forest, ranchers, manufacturers and urban wastes, considering inside the last ones the solid urban wastes and muds of filter system. From all kind of organic wastes that nowadays are generated, the ones of urban origin present one of the most significant incidents. They are produced every day and in a punctual form, this particularity makes them deserving of a special treatment between the whole set of existing wastes. In the context of the Region of Murcia, there is a clear challenge: What to do with the organic wastes from the food-processing companies, that at present is leading to the animal feed, but that in a future (short medium term) it is not known by certainty if the above mentioned use will be or not possibly; as well as with other many wastes from the agrofood sector, which are taking place at present, and it is necessary to give them a rational output from an environmental and economic point of view. For all this kind of wastes, a possible output for them is to consider directly as "source of organic material for soils ", and by means of suitable systems of stabilization (compost processing), to turn them into suitable source for our soils. Another possible output, is to submit the wastes produced in the beer manufacturing (bagasse) to a process of biomethanization, in order to obtain a clean energy across them (biogas), as well as an organic waste adapted to incorporate it to our soils as source of organic material and nutrients, without any risk. A previous project exists already where there is demonstrated that the bagasse is a waste that can be capable of being biomethanized, but needs from an adapted mixture with other substrata, that offers the support to be able to carry out the process. A suitable optimization of the

3 3 anaerobic digestion, and for the use of his " digestates or digested " later, it is so necessary. Agrofood sector in Murcia Region The food and agriculture sector in Murcia is one of the main foundations upon which regional economic growth is based. It is a competitive and essentially export-based sphere. The sector's main features include significant progress towards agricultural specialization and high levels of employment (14% of the regional population). The sector contributes 10% to regional GDP. Difficult farming conditions in a dry, Mediterranean climate characterized by a lack of rain (levels barely reach 225 l/m2) and the resulting scarce water resources, combined with poor water quality and soil lacking in nutrients, have given rise to an ongoing drive towards technological innovation aimed at finding effective ways of achieving greater profitability and high quality products. This means that the region of Murcia currently has one of the most advanced agricultural industries in the world, despite consuming only 3% of Spain's water resources. The agricultural sector s importance within the Region of Murcia is fundamentally based on irrigation and the use of advanced irrigation technologies. Murcia has 122,000 hectares of irrigated land and 6,000 hectares housing highly modern greenhouses. 96% of final agricultural production is obtained using only 47.2% of the total farmed surface area. The rest is unirrigated. leaders in agricultural technology, greenhouses, agricultural machinery, packing and packaging, etc. The region of Murcia is 3rd in the Spanish ranking of agricultural export figures, producing 20% of the total value of national exports. In terms of citrus and stoned fruits, lemons and peaches respectively, make up more than half of regional production and together with oranges and apricots, they represent 72% of regional fruit production. In terms of horticultural products, the autonomous region of Murcia exports 68% of regional production. It is the main Spanish producer of broccoli, celery, lettuce and artichokes and its production figures for melons, peppers and tomatoes on a national scale are significant. In relation to fruit, 65% of what is regionally produced is exported. The sector has also encouraged the creation of a wide range of innovative industries that are Grapes are also an increasingly important crop in the region and vines currently cover a surface area of 23,000 hectares. The Bullas, Jumilla and Yecla designations of origin produce table wines and they make around 55 million liters a year. The most relevant food processing segment within the regional food and agricultural industry by volume is vegetable canning (fruit and vegetables). It is important to note that the region of Murcia is the main producer of canned products in Spain, accounting for 50% of Spanish production.

4 4 Part of regional fruit and vegetable production is marketed as fresh produce and the rest is canned (40% - fruit and 60% - vegetables), whereas almost 100% of the produce aimed at freezing are vegetables. This industry emerged in order to convert the region s high quality traditional agricultural production and it currently represents 25.4% of industrial activity in the region of Murcia. Annual production exceeds 300,000 metric tons and annual turnover is around 1 billion, more than 400 million of which is aimed at exports, thus maintaining the sector s traditional exporting trend. Foreign trade The Spanish exports of agrofood products got in 2010 the figure of more than millions. The principal destinations of these exports are the EU countries, led by France, Italy, Portugal, Germany and United Kingdom. The importance of Murcia's food and agricultural sector in terms of foreign trade is reflected in the absolute value of exports from different sectors in Murcia, with food and agricultural produce representing 50%. This figure accounts for almost 9.5% of national food and agricultural exports. In 2008, canned exports amounted to 148 million. Of this amount, fruit accounted for 68,225 tons, canned vegetables 44,373 tons and marmalades and jams 9,219 tons. The main foreign sales destination is the European Union (72.8%), mainly the UK, France and Germany, and the USA (17.69%), where demand requires high guarantee and quality levels. Produce is also exported to other areas: Arab countries, South America, North Africa, Japan and parts of Asia. Training & research The agricultural and related industries sector is constantly developing due to its ongoing commitment to R&D&I, with 20% of all research relating to this sector being carried out in Murcia. There are several well-known research bodies and organizations, including the Instituto Murciano de Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario y Alimentario IMIDA (Murcia Institute for Agricultural and Food Research & Development) and the Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura CEBAS (The Edaphology and Applied Biology Centre), a multi-disciplinary centre that undertakes research in scientific and technical fields relating to the development of high quality and sustainable agriculture, and the Agrofood Cluster which is treating to develop cooperation projects between companies. Companies are also supported by several technological centers, such as the CTNC (Technology Center for Canning and Food), which undertakes research and works on technologically innovative applications and quality control for industries working in the fields of canned vegetables, frozen foods, olives, pickles and sauces, and the Plastic and Metal Technology Center, which supplies innovative systems and applied services to agricultural machinery and food and agriculture companies. Environmental practices Huge efforts have also been made to adapt the sector to new environmentally friendly practices (integrated, ecological and clean agricultural production) and the majority of companies have adopted international quality standards, maintaining the highest levels of food quality and safety.

5 5 MURCIA NEWS AND EVENTS MURCIA FOOD EVENT th October 2011 This has been the 5th edition of the international biannual meeting Murcia Food Brokerage Event 2011, where the latest novelties in the field of food technology have been presented, and diverse technological necessities have been shared among the participants, giving a chance to establish technology cooperation agreements between companies from several European countries. As usual, the V Food Technology International Symposium had place in parallel with the brokerage meetings, gathering select group of speakers expert in the most innovative technologies and the most up-to-date issues. In addition, during the second day, it was held a conference cycle showing the technology foresight in the food sector. Important institutions and companies, such as OPTI (Industrial Technology Foresight Observatory), CDTI (Centre for Industrial Technological Development), Siemens, Hero and CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) presented the trends and foresight in their respective fields. As a new feature, this year the event took place in Cartagena, making use of the building and facilities of the Technical University of Cartagena, in the CIM building, at the promenade, where all the participants could enjoy the nice views of the port of Cartagena. Background The Murcia Food Brokerage Event is a meeting arranged every two years. Since the first edition in 2003, the event has achieved a growing success and recognition. We can remark the high attendance number of the last two editions, as we can see briefly here: The third edition was held in A total of 285 companies from 25 countries participated in about 900 bilateral meetings. The catalogue for this event included 300 technology offers and requests. The fourth edition of 2009 had the largest participation rate, with 340 companies registered from 13 countries. There were more than 350 technological offers and requests, and no less than 1000 bilateral meetings during two days. Summary and a few figures This 5th edition of the Murcia Food Brokerage Event could be described as the one of the excellence, where the rate of attendance gave way to the quality of the technological profiles introduced and the interest emerged during the bilateral meetings. The current state of the European s countries economy and specially the consequences that the economical crisis in Spain has involved that the number of participants decreased considerably both in the international and Spanish participants. But this fact has been used to provide a better assistance to all the companies: helping to write and correct the profiles, monitoring of the meetings selection for avoiding troubles during the event, mentoring to the participants during the meetings, solving specials request of participants, etc. Altogether 160 companies and universities gathered in the meetings, introducing almost 300 technological profiles. Over 500 bilateral meetings were scheduled before the event, though finally it was about 600 meetings during the two days, taking the un-scheduled meetings into account.

6 6 Romania 0 1 Sweden 1 0 Switzerland 0 1 Total PARTICIPANTS Number of registered participants per country Country Nr. of participants Spain 128 Turkey 13 Italy 8 Poland 4 Malta 2 Mexico 1 Romania 1 Sweden 1 Switzerland 1 Total 159 Spain 80% Switzerland Sweden Romania Poland Malta 3% Mexico Turkey 7% Italy 5% Differences among types of participants Number of participants according to whether they are companies or any other type of institutions (universities, research institutes, technological centres, etc.). Country Companies Others Spain Turkey 4 9 Italy 1 7 Poland 3 1 Malta 2 0 Mexico 0 1 International participants Companies Others PROFILES Spain Turkey Type of profile introduced Type of profile Italy Poland Malta Mexico Romania Sweden Switzerland Number Offer 180 Request 53 Research Partnership 39 Know-how / Expertise 16 TOTAL 288 Number of profiles per country Country Nr. of profiles Spain 252 Turkey 13 Italy 9 Poland 6 Malta 4 Mexico 1 Romania 1 Sweden 1 Switzerland 1 TOTAL 288 Spain 89% Switzerland 0% Sweden 0% Romania 0% Mexico 0% Malta Poland 2% Turkey 5% Italy 3%

7 7 MINUTES OF GOVERNING BOARD MEETING, th October 2011 ERANET ICT AGRI MEETINGS Number of meetings per country Country Nr. of own bookings Nr. of guest bookings Spain Turkey Malta 26 0 Italy Poland 5 7 Romania 2 2 Switzerland 1 0 Mexico 0 3 Sweden 0 4 TOTAL Number of bookings Own bookings Guest meetings Spain Turkey Malta Italy Poland Romania Switzerland Mexico Sweden Instituto de Fomento de la Región de Murcia takes part of the project ERANET ICT-AGRI as a partner. This project is a cross-thematic ERANET spanning three FP7 themes: Agriculture and food supply; Environment and climate; and Information and Communication Technology. ICT-AGRI is funded by the European Commission's ERA-NET scheme under the 7th Framework Programme for Research. The overall goal of this ERANET is to strengthen the European research in the area and develop a common European research agenda concerning ICT and robotics in agriculture, and to follow up with join calls based on funds from the participating countries national and regional research programmes. The first call was launched in 2010 and the second one will be published in The purpose is also to pool fragmented human and financial resources, in order to improve both the efficiency and the effectiveness of Europe s research efforts. ICT-AGRI has 18 partners and 14 observers from 21 countries. It was initiated on 1 May 2009 and runs until 31 July The last ICT.AGRI ERANET Governing Board Meeting was held in Murcia in October during two days. 17 partners attended to this meeting, where important decisions were taken. The subjects for the GB meeting included: Approval of new structure in the consortium. Revision and decisions about the Technical Annex of the project. Other European projects in ICT and automation in agriculture. National and European Union activities like contributions to FP7 KBBE Work Programme Presentation and discussion and approval of modifications of the Strategic Research Agenda of the EraNet.

8 8 Important decisions about the first call monitoring procedure and the following call. The partners of this project are discussing the best way to become a stable network after the ERANET finishes. PACMAn STATE OF THE ART 1 st CONFERENCE PACMAN IN MARVÃO - PORTUGAL PACMAn is carrying out its activities according to the Project timeplan. On the past 10th and 11th of November, it took place in Marvão (Alentejo- Portugal), the 3rd meeting of the Transnational Project PACMAn. The initiative was welcomed by ADRAL (Portuguese Partner of the project) and aimed, apart from the partnership meeting and the monitoring committee, to promote the 1st Transnational Conference of the Project. Dedicated to the theme "The agri-food sector - the challenge of internationalization", the initiative took place on November 11th, Thursday, in the auditorium of Quinta dos Olhos de Água, home of São Mamede Natural Park, in the region of Alto Alentejo. The session focused on the agri-food sector and on the opportunities of internationalization for SMEs in Mediterranean regions comprised by the project, as well as on the disclosure of PACMAn, its objectives and activities, to entities linked to the agri-food cluster and the general public. The objectives of the conference were to promote the exchange of national and international best SME practices related to the implementation of public policies in the context of the internationalization of the agri-food cluster. Opened by the Secretary of State of Forestry and Rural Development, Daniel Campelo, the Conference was attended by an average of 80 participants and congregated business testimonies - Diterra, Sabores de Santa Clara, Torrefacção Palmeira, Herdade Vale da Rosa and Nunes e Sequeira experts, lecturers and Public and Private Organizations from the business area, such as AICEP - Agency for Investment and External Commerce of Portugal, InAlentejo, IFAP Institute of financial agriculture and fisheries, QUALIFICA - National Association of Municipalities and Producers for the Assessment and Evaluation of Traditional Portuguese Products, CAP - Confederation of Farmers of Portugal and the Agrarian School of Elvas. As for results, in addition to a better understanding of PACMAN project, its objectives and activities, we should highlight the identification of good practices at the level of internationalization of the agri-food sector, the identification of challenges and opportunities for the internationalization of agri-food cluster and the identification of the main tools that support the internationalization of the agri-food sector.

9 9 NEWS AND EVENTS 29/11/2011, Conference, Warsaw, Poland: Promotion of European Agriculture a New Approach Organised by the Polish Presidency, the conference will touch on the themes of the highest importance for all the EU promotion policy stakeholders being an important forum for the discussion on the Green Paper on promotion measures and information provision for agricultural products. Topics related to the future of European promotion policy in the context of the publication of the Green Paper, as well as the presentation of the initial results of the public consultation on the Green Paper will be the key focus of the conference. For more info: International Green Week 2012 (Berlin, 20-29/01/2012) The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is about to change do you want to know how? The EU policy, which annually provides German farmers with steady support, is currently up for revision. Old schemes make way for new and greener ideas to help our farmers and rural areas meet the challenges of the future. Are you wondering how the proposed changes will affect you, your business, the environment or simply the food you eat? Then drop by the EU stand in Hall 4.2 where our experts will be glad to tell you more. 50 Years of CAP 2012 is also a very special year for the CAP. We celebrate this policy being at the service of the Europeans for 50 years. No celebration without animation! During the ten days, there will be debates, activities, games, quizzes and prizes to win at the stand, for kids and grown-ups as well. Famous German chefs will be sharpening their knives and heating up the stove to give you a unique Taste of Europe in a series of seducing gastronomic cooking demonstrations and tastings. The CAP is something special. Visit the EU stand to find out why! We will organize: a launching event for the 50 years of the Common Agricultural Policy, stage debates with various guests, including senior officials responsible for the Common Agricultural Policy, cooking demonstrations with the emphasis on quality products, on-screen and paper quizzes and animation with a professional entertainer with handy prizes for winners. Source: 2nd Annual European Food Manufacturing & Safety Summit th - 31st January 2012 Grand Hotel Huis Ter Duin, Amstedam, Netherlands The SAFE consortium is proud to be a Lead Supporting Association of this event. The 2nd Annual European Food Manufacturing & Safety Summit 2012 dates will bring together over 150+ senior level food and beverage professionals to discuss the key chnallenges facing food and beverage manufacturers and highlight the latest strategies to improve efficiency and streamline production processes whilst cutting costs, boosting profitability and ensuring quality and safety. The European Food Manufacturing & Safety Summit will give you the opportunity to network with fellow industry practitioners and hear best practice. Register now to: Strengthen your response to changing market conditions Understand the current market dynamics and the impact on your refining operations Discover how food manufacturers are extending operational excellence programmes across global operations Expand Continuous Improvement across your business Learn how to optimise your production process and improve margins Discuss innovations and developments in process and safety assurance technology To find out more, please visit Michaela.melcher@wtgevents.com or give a call at +44 (0) m_content&view=article&id=1316&itemid=751