WalBioPower

Energy recovery from food waste and urea contained in human urine and livestock effluent in Wallonia.

In the current context of global warming, it is evident that actions are required to mitigate environmental impacts. To address this challenge, the European Union aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. One of the primary strategies of the EU involves phasing out fossil fuels and promoting renewable energy sources. The WalBioPower project intends to contribute to this ambition through the upcycling of organic waste for the production of green energy. It has started in 2021 and will last until 2026. Two streams of organic waste are under investigation due to their abundance, availability, energy potential, and the necessity for improvements in their management:

• Food waste from canteen, restaurants, etc.
• Urine and liquid manure of men and cattle

On one hand, food waste will be used to feed small-scale digesters performing anaerobic digestion in order to produce biomethane. The aim of WalBioPower is to implement decentralized digesters working at ambient temperatures, fostering the development of the circular economy and energetical dependence. Indeed, WalBioPower produce a local source of energy by handling food waste flow. Moreover, the digestate will not be repurposed as amendments for cultivation. Instead, it will be utilized as a source of nitrogen to cultivate bacteria producing precursors for plastics. Biogas will be refined using the same bacteria as a carbon dioxide source. The setup and optimization of anaerobic digestion are being carried out by UMons.

On the other hand, urine, whether of animal or human origin, represents a waste whose treatment currently places a heavy burden on the purification sector. The nitrogen contained in urine, mainly in the form of urea, constitutes a significant pollution for the environment, affecting both surface and groundwater. The reduction of nitrogen load indeed accounts for a very important part of the cost of wastewater treatment. Belgium must reduce his ammoniac emission by 13% before 2030. Urea contained in urine has a high energy potential, especially for hydrogen production. Two strategies will be developed. The first one is to use urea as catalyst to produce hydrogen. The second one is to produce hydrogen through plasma reforming.

To bring the WalBioPower project to fruition, the following areas of expertise were combined:

• the chemical and biochemical process engineering laboratory (LGPCB - UMONS) in the field of biomethanisation
• the proteomics and microbiology laboratory (ProtMic - UMONS) in the cultivation of photosynthetic micro-organisms
• the Biotech department (MaNo) in the field of bioelectrochemical systems
• the SDM department (MaNo) in the field of electrode functionalisation and electrolysis
• the Systems Study, Estimation, Control and Optimisation group (SECO - UMONS) in the field of bioprocess control
• the PEPS group, Chemical Engineering research unit, (ULiège) in the field of life cycle analysis of biological processes.

The project is financed by FEDER.