Environmental Protection and Superior Recovery of Vegetal Waste and Biomass, Major objectives in the Applied Research Activity

Abstract

Vegetable biomass consumes a small part of the solar energy, about 1%, but enough to cover the energy needs of mankind and maintain the life of the entire planet [1]. Vegetable biomass is generators of minerals, chemical compounds, materials and fibres for industry and animal husbandry feed. The enormous interest in the superior recovery of biomass and vegetable waste has led to the additional research within the Research and Development Department at Hofigal SA, which I am a member of, in 2022 for: Making soils and substrates, from vegetable waste, for the growth of fungi. Industrial reuse of waste from industrial production activity. Obtain liquid, natural fertilizers and solid compost (humus) by recovering vegetable waste resulting from industrial activity and vegetable biomass resulting from crop maintenance. Create new sources of raw materials by acclimatizing new plants. Create new aqueous and hydroalcoholic plant extracts from spontaneous flora to protect agricultural crops against pests without using synthetic chemicals and other research activities. The major objective of this research is to reduce the amount of waste and plant biomass resulting at Hofigal, as well as to create new resources of plant raw materials, leading to new products and food supplements for health care. For this purpose, we aimed to reduce the amount of vegetable waste, from industrial activity, from 30 tons to one ton/year. We also aimed to obtain 5 tons of plant protection solutions and 20 tons of liquid organic fertilizer from the aerobic fermentation of compost on concrete platforms. This liquid fertilizer will be used for fertilizing the plants with the irrigation/watering of the plants, because it is applied diluted. We managed to acclimatize, in industrial cultures, in a 1-year cycle of culture, five new plants, three from the local spontaneous flora (wormwood, black wormwood and orpine-Sedum telephium) and two from the specific flora of China and Japan (lophantus and perilla). The achievements of the Hofigal Research and Development Department were validated by the Hofigal Scientific Council and proposed in the production plan for the year 2023-2024.