Winner: Bioestibas SAS with the project “Agglomerating Future”
Bioestibas is the first ecological pallets and boards factory in Latin America. The essential ingredient is the stem of hydrangeas. Hydrangea is a Colombian flower which is exported in large quantities. More than 60,000 tons of agricultural waste result every month from the production of these flowers. This biomass is either discarded or burnt.
Initial situation
A lot of organic waste results from the cultivation of hydrangeas. When exploring possible uses for the abundant biomass that results from the flower production process, the company found several applications of great utility. Bioestibas found out that in Antioquia province alone more than 60,000 tons of agricultural waste are generated per month that could be used as raw material in several industrial processes.
Solution
Ecological pallets and particle boards are produced that have many advantages over traditional wood products. After deep investigation, several applications of great utility were found for this floricultural waste, such as agglomerated pallets. After three years of successful participation in the market, the production of boards for carpentry and construction were added. So far, more than 7,300 trees have been saved as well as over 3,000 tons of carbon oxide. Furthermore, the combustion of more than 1,600 tons of waste from floriculture has been prevented.
Innovation
In Eastern Antioquia, the residual flower stems are collected free of charge from the floriculturists. After that, they get a final disposal certificate of this agricultural waste. This residual biomass is then cut, milled, dried, mixed with resins and agglomerated at high pressure and temperature for the manufacturing of ecological pallets. The new product is a great surrogate for traditional pallets.
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