The leachates from the non-hazardous waste landfill, the liquid fraction of the digestate from the biomethanisation plant of the municipal organic fraction and the liquid collected in the pits of the new mechanical-biological treatment plant (MBT) are three types of wastewater that the Asturias Consortium for the Management of Solid Waste (COGERSA) will be able to recover within the LIFE INFUSION project. The installation of the pilot plant, central to this innovative project, is being completed in the COGERSA complex, and in the coming weeks it will be mechanically and electrically connected.

COGERSA, in its waste treatment centre, generates various types of wastewater. These include, among others, leachate from the non-hazardous waste landfill and the liquid fraction of the digestate from the biomethanisation plant, where the organic fraction separated at source is treated.

Recently, COGERSA also manages the liquid collected in the mixed municipal waste reception pits of the new MBT, operating since the end of 2023. This plant processes mixed waste, generating runoff with a very high organic load, which also need treatment.

COGERSA continually adapts its processes to efficiently manage these different types of wastewater and reduce its environmental impact.

Photograph 1. Leachate pond at the COGERSA waste treatment center.

Table 1. Average values of various parameters analysed in wastewater generated at COGERSA.

COGERSA uses advanced technologies to treat its wastewater. It has two nitrification-denitrification plants, one of which operates under pressure and the other at atmospheric pressure. It also has ultrafiltration and adsorption systems with active carbon.

Although these methods are very effective in reducing the contaminant load of water (especially the ammonium content, present at very high levels in leachates and liquid digestates), they also consume a lot of energy and do not allow the recovery of valuable resources such as nitrogen in ammoniacal form.

Photograph 2. COGERSA wastewater treatment plants.

The INFUSION project investigates how to valorise this wastewater, in line with COGERSA’s commitment to circular economy. This project also envisages lower energy consumption, sparking COGERSA’s interest from the beginning, which wanted to learn about and test these technologies first-hand.

The pilot plant of the LIFE INFUSION project will be tested at COGERSA to treat various wastewater generated in the complex. To this end, an open lab is being built on an area recovered from the closed landfill. This site will allow testing advanced technologies and reflect COGERSA’s commitment to providing society with an open and collaborative space for open innovation. The civil works have been completed and most of the equipment and subsystems of the pilot plant are already installed in the area.

Photograph 3. Unloading and placement of equipment from the LIFE INFUSION pilot plant to the COGERSA open lab.

In the coming weeks, the mechanical and electrical connection of the LIFE INFUSION pilot plant equipment will be carried out. Then, to start it up, biomass from the biomethanation plant will be introduced into the reactor, which will help start the biological process that will treat the different wastewater under anaerobic and thermophilic conditions. The first one to be treated will be the leachate, which contains high levels of ammonium and organic matter difficult to decompose, so we are trying to improve the process by treating the leachate together with other wastewater generated at the COGERSA waste treatment centre.

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