Compost di Vino
An ambitious project, for an ambitious company!
BioLogik and its project partners have received funding under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF/ERDF/EFRE). The goal of this research and development project is to apply our innovative ComposThermie technology to the wine supply chain. The project creates a fully integrated and circular solution for heating, waste utilization and fertilization needs in viticulture.
Regenerative Heating
Maximum utilization, minimum waste
By integrating our project into the wine production cycle, we can achieve not only complete upcycling of production waste but also generate thermal energy from it. Through composting, the thermal energy produced can be utilized within any facility. As all good things come to an end, when the thermal energy from the waste ends, the remaining compost can be used to fertilize fields.
Academic partners
For this project we have partnered with experts at EURAC Research center and the Free University of Bolzano. UBz will facilitate thermo-chemical laboratory analyses to characterize the unique biomass properties of the vineyard woody residues. In doing so, they will help us develop an accurate kinetic model of the composting process enabling an optimized heat extraction system. The specialists at the EURAC Sustainable Heating and Cooling Systems research group will model heat pump integration and overall performance optimization of the system. Their mastery of these technologies will help us improve upon the first of its kind control systems to optimally regulate heat extraction and ensure our customers heating needs are met.
Agricultural experts
In addition to our academic collaborators, we are partnering with Laimburg Research Centre and Südtiroler Bauernbund, the South Tyrolean Farmers' Association. We will be working with Laimburg to precisely understand the agricultural calendar and the characteristics of the project specific biomass residues as well as to confirm the performance of end-of-process compost material. To complement this perspective, our partners at Bauerbund will provide their deep understanding of the farmers’ experience to ensure that the system we create will optimally fit the needs of our end use customers.
Partner of the winery
The vineyards of Castel Salleg are located among the various terrains of Lake Caldaro, offering different soil conditions for testing.
Finally, our partner at the Castel Salleg winery will provide the proving ground for the project, hosting the physical components and acting as the end user of the heat and compost we produce.
Innovation
Innovation is at the core of what we do at BioLogik. This project will be the first compost-heat-recovery system specifically designed to meet the needs of the wine production process. We will be compiling research about the supply chain of biomass from field to storage, to current waste disposal practices to improve the process for farmers. We will be developing new techniques for more seamless customer interfacing through new control schemes, improving the performance of the integrated heat pump components, and improving upon the loading and unloading process which is historically burdensome in the traditional low-tech version of the bioreactor technology.