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SIMBIOSALT

Coordinator

Pedro Jorge Marques de Carvalho

CESAM Responsible researcher

Isabel Lopes

Programme

I&D em Co-Promoção

Dates

30/09/2020 - 30/06/2023

Funding for CESAM

38500 €

Total Funding

747198 €

Funding Entity

COMPETE 2020

Proponent Institution

Demoscore, Lda

Participating Institutions

  • Universidade de Aveiro
  • CICECO
  • LUGRADE - BACALHAU DE COIMBRA, S.A
  • MAÇARICO, S.A
  • VentilAQUA S.A
  • Centro Tecnológico das Indústrias do Couro

The SimbioSalt project aims to investigate an alternative valorization of those residues whereby, through the combination of technologies, a solution will be developed to obtain a commercially valuable product – purified brine – with two potential uses: (i) use within the industry that generated the brine, or (ii) use within the tanning industry (for skin preservation and pickling), with the source of these saline products being the industries under study in this project. The ultimate objective of SimbioSalt is to develop a process/technology that can treat/purify brines, removing the organic matter they contain, particularly fats and proteins, and also disinfecting them. It is intended that this treatment will generate saline by-products that can be used without restrictions in the industries under study, thus, the project is based on the principles of eco-innovation and circular economy. As the brine undergoes various levels of treatment, the resulting product will be tested both in the respective industries for reuse in the manufacturing process and in leather treatment in the tanning industry. The brines will be tested until evidence is obtained (through parallel comparison with virgin brine) that their application does not affect the final product quality. The SimbioSalt project is led by a tanning industry company, Demoscore, which, in symbiosis with the canned goods company (Maçarico) and the Cod (Lugrade), seeks an innovative technological solution for the treatment and valorization of contaminated brines. In this sense, these companies have joined forces with two R&D entities (University of Aveiro, UA, and the Leather Industries Technological Center, CTIC) and with a company producing equipment/technological solutions for effluent treatment, VentilAQUA, with appropriate technical skills to develop the innovative solution that integrates advanced oxidation processes, such as electrochemical processes and physical separation processes, in order to meet the requirements/specifications of the raw materials (brines).