007 cartif newsview june 2014

number 007. June 2014

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

CONTENTS published CARTIF Research Centre Boecillo Technology Park.

Valladolid, Spain www.cartif.com

staff CARTIF Communication Department

collaborations Agrofood Area. Biofuels Area

CARTIF news

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Keywords

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Talking with‌

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CARTIF selection

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design oopscooperative@gmail.com

photography Cover picture: Tide lamp from Stuart Haygarth. www.stuarthaygarth.com Inside pictures: CARTIF archive

WASTE ARE THE

EDITOR’S NOTE During this month of June were held many events around research, economy and European policies sustainability. CARTIF took part in many of them, due to the fact we are involved in numerous project related to environmental sustainability (Green Week, Athens 2014) and energy efficiency (Genoa Smart week, EUSEW). We have talked about these topics in previous issues of CARTIF NEWSVIEW In this issue, we speak about agrofood and biofuels from the standpoint of recovering waste and the revalorization of subproducts. Based on the motto of this year’s Green Week, “Circular economy: saving resources, creating jobs”, we explain how the CARTIF research lines are focused in these points. Terms such as optimization, management, sustainability, recovery, recycling and reuse, are common between CARTIF researchers.

Cause we think that a circular economy is the logical solution for a resource-constrained world, we’ll continue working to achieve the goal to get a world where almost nothing is wasted, where the re-use and remanufacturing of products has become standard practice, and where sustainability is built into the fabric of society.

E NEW RAW MATERIALS

cartif news

cartif news This news selection is just a small sample of the Center activities in the last month.

You can follow us through our web and social networks.

CARTIF TOOK PART IN THE GREEN WEEK 2014 The Spanish Centre is the European entity with more ongoing projects, leading the most of them. These 10 projects are developing in the areas of waste recovery and management, atmospheric pollution, carbon footprint and water and energy.

During the Green Week, the biggest annual conference on European environment policy, the RESCATAME Project, was awarded as one of the Best LIFE- Environment projects 2013. The project, leading by CARTIF, has been selected out of the 85 that finished and were evaluated in 2013.

ATHENS 2014 CARTIF researchers presented the paper “Multi-waste treatment and valorisation by thermochemical processes� in the framework of ATHENS 2014, 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Solid Waste Management. The Conference aims to address the significant issue of sustainable solid waste management through the promotion of effective technologies and safe practices.

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cartif news

GENOA SMART WEEK This event, organized by Genoa Municipality, drew on various European projects, and on organizations, agencies, federations and policy-makers to inspire highlevel discussion about moving towards more sustainable, energyefficient cities.

CARTIF researchers presented R2CITIES project during the TRANSFORMation Dialogue High Level Political Event. This policy forum was packed full with presentations and talks about the political responsibility and commitment required for a strategic agenda to transform our cities.

CARTIF TOOK PART IN EUSEW 2014 On occasion of EUSEW 2014, the four projects DIRECTION (led by CARTIF), BUILDSMART, NEXT-Buildings and NEED4B organized the conference “Nearly-zero energy buildings in Europe - Recommendations from research, 14 demonstration sites and 30 buildings”.

The conference took place on 23 June 2014, at the Committee of the Regions (Brussels).

Launched in 2006 as an initiative of the EC, the EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) has become a reference point for public authorities, energy agencies, private companies, NGOs and industry associations engaged in helping to meet the EU’s energy and climate goals.

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keywords waste valorization useful life sustainable management One of the first research lines in CARTIF was the one focused on agrofood. Optimize the manufacturing processes, develop new products, waste recovery, and extraction and isolation of natural products with biological activity from agrofood waste, are many of our work lines Agricultural and forestry biomass were launched in Spain at the end of 90’s, and CARTIF was a pioneer centre in this field, based on first level equipment and facilities such as a pelleting pilot plant.

circular economy laboratories

Agricultural and forestry biomass were launched in Spain at the end of 90’s, and CARTIF was a pioneer centre in this field

Crops Ten years later, this economic sector has evolved into the search of new biomass combinations and the optimization of different forestry and agricultural species. CARTIF Biofuels Research Team is developing a few projects in this area. For instance, one project focused on to get new woody and herbaceous crops with energy purposes. To get biomass “a la carte” could be possible in a short term through the production flexibility.

Another project ongoing is developing agropellets to solve the associated risks to the agricultural biomass: high content of chlorine, higher ash content and their low temperature of fusibility. These features can produce very harmful effects on combustion systems, which

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impede offer guarantees about their yield, reliability and durability.

CARTIF has many different laboratories to complement the research works. The Biomass Laboratory, that has been running 10 years, studies the behavior of biomass and waste that exist in the Iberian Peninsula in conventional domestic boilers. These studies may determine which mixtures of native biomass are best for this type of boilers, either exclusively good for multifuel pellets, with the restrictions that may be subject.

With the results obtained will facilitate the development and implementation of biomass heating systems in homes and in the tertiary sector in a very short time.

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Data collection in a poplar plantation

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Besides, agronomic, hidric and nutritional studies are carried out in the Agroforestry Laboratory. This allows provide agronomic advice to the agriculturist who can control his crops, minimizing risk and achieving the highest possible profitability.

A key of crop control is the monitoring and nutritional screening, by measuring specific plants needs and adjusting the dose of irrigation and fertilizer. This control also entails the sustainability of the operation to remove leachate (contaminated groundwater and soil destructuring). Thus increase the productivity and yields and environmental impact is minimized. This aspect is completed with specific solutions for the valorisation (recycling) of wastes and effluents. Regardless of their source: food industry, or industrial processes, after an exhaustive characterization of waste and effluents both of them can be reused as fertilizers and fertigators.

Agrofood Rounding out the production cycle, the Agrofood research line is focused in the procurement

Flour analysis in the Agrofood Laboratory of CARTIF

and purification of natural compounds and their incorporation to products of high added value. In this framework, one of the more full projects developed in CARTIF over the last years is the one called DIANA, which main goal is the extraction of natural antioxidants to design new ingredients.

These antioxidants have been obtained from food like grapes, cereals, coffee and algae.

From the wine polyphenols, ferulic acid from cereal and antioxidants from coffee and algae, new ingredients have been designed and their effectiveness have been studied on different matrix meats food, dairy, animal feed, pasta, coffee, flour and beverages and soft drinks. After four years of researching in collaboration with renowned companies, the conservative effect of their active ingredients obtained has been evaluated; improving the food microbiological stability and nutritionalfunctional effect.

Again, the Agrofood Laboratory has had a relevant role through its specialized units such as Biotechnology Unit, and the wide range of equipment available.

Analysis carried out in the framework of DIANA project

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The FUNGIFAR project works on the same line, and is developing a complete process of extraction, purification and stabilization of active ingredients derived from medicinal mushrooms for evaluation as antioxidant and immunomodulatory compounds and their antioxidant, cardiotonic and anticancer effects. This project is being carried out in collaboration with Mexico, and their native species are under study.

To complete this production process are other possible improvement. To get an energy efficient facilities, the right sustainable management of waste and the best manufacturing processes, are the objectives of other ongoing projects.

One of the most significant is the one called NUTRI-E, which main goal is achieve energy

efficiency in the processes of Cook & Chill Cooking The importance of this aspect is the major energy inputs needed for both cooking food as for cooling, ensuring the conservation of dishes. About to finish, has gotten a kitchen energy-efficient prototype, marketable and exportable Summarizing; the main research lines of CARTIF in Agrofood and Biofuels works in the framework of the food and drink circular economy cycle: fertilizer/seeds-agriculturemanufacturing-retail-use-collection-AD/ composting-and agriculture again.

With this kind of projects, we contribute to build a more efficient circular economy, to deliver a more competitive industry and sustainable growth.

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talking with

talking with‌ Researchers of CARTIF Agrofood and Biofuels Areas Main of research lines of CARTIF could be included in the circular economy concept.

This is a generic term for an industrial economy that is, by design or intention, restorative and in which material flows are of two types, biological nutrients, designed to reenter the biosphere safely, and technical nutrients, which are designed to circulate at high quality without entering the biosphere. The term encompasses more than the production and consumption of goods and services, including a shift from fossil fuels to the use of renewable energy, and the role of diversity as a characteristic of resilient and productive systems. It includes discussion of the role of money and finance as part of the wider debate, and some of its pioneers have called for a revamp of economic performance measurement tools.

The group of researchers that speaks for this issue of CARTIF NEWSVIEW, represents these research lines. One of the main principles of the circular economy is to consider that waste does not exist, because the biological and technical components of a product are designed by intention to fit within a materials cycle, designed for disassembly and repurposing. The biological nutrients are

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Agrofood industry must to develop manufacturing process that minimize waste and could reuse and revalue subproducts from the food production non-toxic and can be simply composted.

Technical nutrients are designed to be used again with minimal energy.

Senior researcher Teba Torres, which works in the Agrofood field, reminds that the main objectives of CARTIF have always been the waste valorization and obtaining new ingredients. Senior researcher Anabel Ruiz exposes that

Anabel Ruiz.

Degree in Food Science.

Extraction, purification and quantification procedures of active ingredients recovery from agrofood industries

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that covered other needs: longer useful life, convenience food and special food for allergic, old people, kids, etc Belén Blanco Degree in Food Technologist. Extrusion process and enhancement of agrofood by products

the research teams of the centre have developed a complete extraction and characterization processes of biologically active compounds that may turn a polluting residue into a source of valuable compounds (like polysaccharides, betacarotenes, ergosterol and beta-glucans), which are object of growing interest and could be added in new products or used in pharmaceutical and food industries (i.e. reactive oxygen species are involved in the onset of several human diseases and in the oxidative degradation of food).

Senior researcher Belén Blanco, talks about the evolution in the CARTIF research lines along last ten years according to the market and consumer needs. However, it should be recalled that innovation in the agrofood sector has suffered occasional setbacks related to changes in the consumption habits caused by the global economic crisis. In the best moment of the functional food, the loss of purchasing power of households favored these products were changed by others

R&D projects have managed to adapt all these changes. The awareness of the researchers is to conform to new technology trends and legislative requirements of each country. In the framework of EU, the effective use of resources is one of the seven flagship initiatives of Horizon 2020 strategy. The European Parliament approved in 2012 the draft resolution about how to avoid food wastage and improved the efficiency of the food Chain. This initiative includes long-term and short-term measures, among which is the one aimed at converting EU in a circular economy.

Other of the main principles of the circular economy is “energy must come from renewable sources”. Biomass, one of the best known renewable energy, is also a research line in CARTIF. Although this renewable energy was considered as

Raúl Sánchez.

Technical Forest Engineer.

Energy use of residual biomass. Energy crops

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talking with

R&D are focused in improved the quality of the pellets and use splinters again.

Miguel Ángel Sánchez.

Industrial Engineer. Biomass valorization. Biomass Laboratory

a cheap and clear source at the beginning of the last decade, this concept has also evolved.

Senior researcher Raúl Sánchez, indicates that the conversion from biomass to pellets represents the industrialization process of a natural raw material. The pellets only are competitive, from an energy perspective, if they go through a development process. This fact makes more expensive the final product.

Together with the last legislative changes in Spain, the implantation process of biomass such as alternative source of energy, has slowed down.

Senior researcher Miguel A. Sánchez reminds other important factor: Spain has not yet developed the necessary technology to build a competitive sector such as the other countries have. Both researchers agree that our country has bet for renewable energies, especially biomass, but we are far from a stable market. That’s why the last tendencies in

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Adapt the combustion systems available to the pellets characteristics is another R&D trend. In this sense, CARTIF offers an integral service to the companies, with the necessary test and trials to get the quality standards required by the ENplus® system, developed by the European Pellet Council.

This is an effort that must be done to achieve the objectives outlined in the 2012 McKinsey & Company Report: Towards the Circular Economy: and economic and business rationale for an accelerate transition. A challenge to get.

Teba Torres.

Degree in Biological Science. Agrofood biotechnology. New products development

cartif selection TOWARDS THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY VOL. 1: an economic and business rationale for an accelerated transition Using product case studies and economy-wide analysis, this report details the potential for significant benefits across the EU. It argues that a subset of the EU manufacturing sector could realise net materials cost savings worth up to $ 630 billion p.a. towards 2025—stimulating economic activity in the areas of product development, remanufacturing and refurbishment.

TOWARDS THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY VOL. 3: accelerating the scale-up across global supply chains In this report, the World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, with analytics provided

by McKinsey & Company, acting as project adviser, joined forces to reconcile the concept of scaling a circular economy within the reality of a global economy and complex multitier supply chains. The key objective is to propose a very specific joint plan of action for industry leaders.

This month we recommend you four of the best known stakeholders in the circular economy world CRADLE TO CRADLE: REMAKING THE WAY WE MAKE THINGS. William McDonough, Michael Braungart. North Point Press.

2002. 190 pags. 32 $

This book is widely acknowledged a one of the most important environmental manifestos of our time.

It calls for a radical change in industry: a switch from a cradle-tograve pattern to a cradle-to-cradle pattern.

It suggests that the “reduce-reuse- recycle” methods perpetuate this cradle-to-grave strategy, and that more changes need to be made. The book discourages downcycling, but rather encourages the manufacture of products with the goal of upcycling in mind.

THE ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION WEBSITE The Ellen MacArthur Foundation believes that the circular economy provides a coherent framework for systems level re-design and as such offers us an opportunity to harness innovation and creativity to enable a positive, restorative economy.

In its website, you will find a series of articles to help familiarise yourself with the circular economy model, its principles, related schools of thought, and an overview of circular economy news from around the world.

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