Interview with Sergio Sánchez, Technology Director of Envirohemp: “The support of CDTI Innovation and European funds MRR has allowed us to develop a portable plant for electro-regeneration of activated carbon used in water treatment”

The Navarre company Envirohemp was born in 2012 with the aim of taking advantage of waste and by-products and turning them into resources of greater value. In his early years he developed different lines related to the valorisation of biomass and the production of carbonaceous materials, an experience that was expanding towards new circular economy and resource recovery solutions.

That knowledge led the company to consider what could be done with these materials once their capacity for use was exhausted. "If we are able to produce high-performance carbonaceous materials, why not also look for a more efficient and sustainable way to recover coal once used? ", explains Sergio Sánchez, Director of Technology at Envirohemp.

The question opened a new research path in electrochemical regeneration of activated carbons that gave rise to the PORTABLECRAC project, a project funded by Horizon 2020 and developed between 2017 and 2021 in collaboration with different entities, and later to PORTABLE MT, the solution that the company now seeks to bring to the market.

Bringing regeneration to the plant

Granular activated carbon is used to capture and retain certain contaminants during water treatment, preventing them from reaching the final product. With the use, it accumulates these substances and loses retention capacity, so it must be regenerated or replaced. Currently, this recovery process is carried out mainly through thermal processes in centralized facilities, which requires the transport of the exhausted coal to those plants and then return it to the station of origin.

This logistics can be particularly unattractive for smaller drinking water treatment stations (ETAPs) or those located far from centralized facilities. The w-AccelerON project, developed between 2022 and 2024, sought to turn that limitation into an opportunity through a solution capable of taking the process to where the coal is located.

Portable plant designed and manufactured by Envirohemp

This initiative allowed progress in the industrialization of PORTABLE MT, a modular and portable plant, designed to provide a regeneration service in situ. In this way, the coal can be recovered directly in the customer’s installation, reducing displacements and avoiding necessarily resorting to virgin coal to replace the exhausted material.

An alternative to the thermal model

PORTABLE MT uses an electrochemical regeneration process in which the application of electric current favors the elimination of the contaminants retained in the coal and allows to recover its adsorbent properties.

“The big difference to thermal regeneration is that we don’t need to subject coal to the extremely high temperatures of an industrial furnace. The system is designed to work in a modular and portable way and allows the regeneration to be carried out directly in the customer's installation", explains Sergio Sánchez.

This configuration opens a particularly interesting alternative for small plants or plants away from centralized facilities, since, by performing the process in the center itself, the displacements are reduced. The solution also fits with a circular economy strategy, by prolonging the use of this material. "By being able to regenerate coal in situ, we reduce transport, waste, consumption of virgin coal and emissions, and we manage to extend the useful life of a resource that would normally have to be replaced," he adds.

The project also contributes to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 6, Clean Water and Sanitation; SDG 9, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, for the development of a new technological solution; and SDG 12, focused on responsible production and consumption, by promoting the reuse of activated carbon.

The challenge of industrialization

Turning a development into a commercial solution requires ensuring stable operation, adapting it to facilities with different characteristics and ensuring that costs are viable. “The main challenge was to move from a validated technology to an industrial, reliable and economically competitive solution. It was not only necessary to demonstrate that coal could be regenerated, but also to develop a modular system that was easy to operate and adaptable to the real needs of the treatment plants,” explains Sergio Sánchez.

With w-AccelerON, the Navarra company was able to gather the necessary evidence to support the operation of PORTABLE MT and advance its business plan. The project thus made it possible to prepare the first commercial actions with customers interested in hiring regeneration services on site.

The support of the CDTI to get closer to the market

In this tour, Envirohemp was supported by the CDTI Innovation through the Seal of Excellence, financed with European funds from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (MRR). PORTABLE MT had previously received the Seal of Excellence from the European Innovation Council, which distinguishes projects that have successfully passed the European evaluation, but have not obtained Community funding due to budgetary constraints.

Envirohemp Team

The convening of the CDTI allowed to give continuity to this recognition and support a key stage for PORTABLE MT, in which it was necessary to complete the necessary work to bring the solution to its commercial exploitation. “It has been a very important impulse to move forward from research and technological validation towards industrialization,” explains the director.

The w-AccelerON project allowed to gather results and evidence to complete the business plan and support the first commercial actions with customers who had already shown interest in hiring regeneration services on site.

Towards the European market

With w-AccelerON now complete, Envirohemp is focused on bringing PORTABLE MT to the market through new demonstrations and collaborations with water operators, engineers and industries. The next step is to turn the validated technology into a scalable commercial service and expand application opportunities.

The company also continues to develop this technological line through the European project REGENIOUS, in which, among others, Aguas de Bilbao, Canal de Isabel II and Aguas de Barcelona participate. The initiative will allow us to continue advancing the technology and explore new applications of activated carbon regeneration.

"We want to continue growing as a technology company specializing in circular economy solutions. In the case of PORTABLE MT, our objective is to achieve its implementation in the European and later international market, contributing to a more efficient, circular and lower emission water treatment", he concludes.

CDTI Innovation

The Center for Technological Development and Innovation, CDTI E.P.E. It is the innovation agency of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, whose objective is the promotion of technological innovation in the business environment. The mission of the CDTI is to ensure that the Spanish business fabric generates and transforms scientific and technical knowledge into globally competitive, sustainable and inclusive growth.

 
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