The partners of the European LIFE STO3RE project, led by FACSA and also including ESAMUR (Regional Entity for Sanitation and Wastewater Treatment of the Region of Murcia), AINIA (Association for Research in the Agri-food Industry), CEBAS-CSIC (State Agency of the Higher Council for Scientific Research), and IPROMA (Environmental Research and Projects SL), held a new working meeting this week at ESAMUR's facilities to show representatives of the European Commission and the LIFE program the progress and results of this initiative.
Malgorzata Piecha, Project Manager at EASME, and Patricia Serrano, monitor for the LIFE program, visited the demonstration plant installed at the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Totana, Murcia, along with the project partners. At the facility, they were able to see firsthand how, through the combination of different technologies integrating physical, biological, and chemical processes, it is possible to effectively eliminate pathogens and organic micro-pollutants present in sludge and slurry, while simultaneously obtaining biogas usable as an energy source, as well as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus for use in local farms.
The project, launched in September 2015 and currently in its final phase, aims to promote a circular economy model for the joint management of farm slurry and sludge produced in small and medium-sized wastewater treatment plants. The meeting also served to discuss the next steps for the coming months.
About LIFE STO3RE
LIFE STO3RE (ref. LIFE/14ENV/ES/000150) is part of the European LIFE Programme, dedicated to co-financing projects that benefit the environment. With a budget of €1,957,874 and a duration of 40 months, the prototype built at the Totana Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) has allowed for the treatment of representative sludge mixtures from six WWTPs (Totana, Alhama de Murcia, Mazarrón, Puerto Lumbreras, Librilla, and Aledo) and slurry from five farms located in this area, which has more than 150 livestock farms and generates 1.35 million tons of agro-industrial waste each year.
