Zmniejsz tekst Zwiększ tekst

Baza danych projektów PROW

Processing Plant for Adding Value to Citrus by-products

Summary

The installation of a processing plant for treating by products of the citrus agri-food industry has contributed to generate value added of such waste products and their alternative use as input for animal feed, essential oils and treated water.

Background

Citrotecno is a company that was born as an initiative of a group of entrepreneurs from Valencia, traditionally engaged in the agriculture and livestock sectors. Their commitment to these sectors and constant search for innovative solutions has led to the identification and development of modern technologies and research processes that help address the specific needs and issues in a more efficient and effective manner.

Objective

The overall objective of this project was the integrated processing of residuals generated from the citrus processing in the agri-food industry. Through this investment citrus residuals are collected and processed such as pulp and peel. As a result by-products are extracted that are utilised as raw material for animal feed, second-generation bioethanol, D-limonene, essential oils and purified water that is suitable for drinking and irrigation.

Main activities

The projects involves the construction, installation and running of a processing plant for the extraction of citrus by-products. Citrotecno will contact manufacturers of juices and horticulture producers who are interested in using this technology for obtaining high value citrus by-products. The processing plant was designed with a capacity of around 15 to 25 tons per hour, which is believed to be the most cost effective and able to have an adequate return on investment.

Results & Benefits

This new and modern technology processing plant was received with an encouraging response from operators in the sector. It helped companies obtain environmental certification for treating waste/by-products. As a result, there is a high demand to procure this equipment. It is estimated that the plant will reach a capacity of about 40 tons/hour with 6,800/7,500 hours of work every per year.

Lessons learnt

Despite financial and technical difficulties, the creativity and commitment of the entrepreneurs has led to a successful project implementation. In addition, they have opened up new lines of research exploring the feasibility for processing residuals from other horticultural products (e.g. melon, pineapple) as well as other agricultural residuals (e.g. lettuce, rice straw) that constitute a serious environmental problem for the Valencian region.

Project location and other information

L'Horta, Valencia

Region

Valencia

RDP Territory

Comunidad Valenciana

Total project cost (€)

15 130 190

EAFRD contribution (€)

756 509

National contribution (€)

3 026 038

Private contribution (€)

11 347 642

Project website

Contact name

Emilio Cañavate, Joan Magraner

Telephone

+34 96 121 29 08

Languages for contact

Spanish

At a glance

Country

Spain

Final beneficiary type

Individual farmers

Budget range

> €500 000

Start date:

16/11/2009

End Date:

30/06/2012

Theme / Measure:

• Competitiveness of Agriculture & Forestry
• Restructuring, developing physical potential, and promoting innovation
• 123. Adding value to agricultural and forestry products

Keywords:

Agri-food industry, Animal foodstuff, Biofuel, By-product, Waste

Last update

16/05/2012