The ‘Valorization of decontaminating by-products with fertilizer value’ (S-Valor) consortium, made up of the INERCO Biogas engineering company, the Tecnova Technology Center, the Viagro supplies and testing company, the Andalusian Federation of Agri-food Cooperatives and the Grupo de Rural Development (GDR) Gran Vega, seeks synergies between industry and the agricultural sector to promote the circular economy model.
In the industrial field, S-Valor designs and develops an innovative decontamination system for gas streams (through the adsorption desulfurization process) that will reduce the generation of hazardous waste that occurs in conventional systems. Desulfurization is a vitally important treatment in biogas generation plants, since the corrosive power of components such as hydrogen sulfide would limit its use.
This method aims to recover the sulfur content from the biogas industry for its subsequent use as agricultural input. Sulfur is highly valued in fruit and vegetable production as it is an essential macronutrient for crop growth, as it helps to form specific compounds such as amino acids and phospholipids. In addition, it increases the structural stability of the plant, increases the content of enzymes, vitamins and chlorophyll and therefore improves seed production.
After recovering the sulfur with the new industrial prototype, the operational group is working on the creation and field validation of new fertilizers in pellet format, which will also contribute to improving the soil structure by helping the absorption of other nutrients.
