Summary
With 162,000 tons/year, Portugal and Spain have the largest world quota of cork production, being cork stoppers for wine and champagne the “star product”. About 90% of the cork stoppers used worldwide are produced in these two countries. The European Cork Federation established mandatory practices to ensure the quality of the natural stoppers which include several washing, bleaching and disinfection steps. These procedures generate large volumes of wastewaters up to 195,000 m3/year that contain non-biodegradable organic matter, hydrogen peroxide used as disinfectant and different dissolved salts; and constitute a serious risk to environment and human health. The E-CORK project builds on the premise that cork washing wastewaters can be effectively treated by electrochemical advanced oxidation processes. The main goal is to develop an optimized electrochemical treatment line for the depuration and reutilization of cork washing wastewaters taking advantage of the hydrogen peroxide in the main effluent (from by-product to reactant), attending not only to the treatment performance, but also to its technical, economic and environmental feasibility. With this approach and bearing in mind the possibility of reuse the regenerated wastewaters, the E-CORK project aims to revolutionize the cork industry towards a circular economy. The inherent responsibility of Portugal and Spain R&D to promote cleaner and more cost-efficient technologies that safeguard cork production and aquatic environments; the close link with the industrial needs; and the experience of the candidate and supervisor at University of Coimbra, make the perfect conditions to successfully develop this project.
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More information & hyperlinks
| Web resources: | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101038060 |
| Start date: | 10-01-2022 |
| End date: | 09-01-2024 |
| Total budget - Public funding: | 159 815,04 Euro - 159 815,00 Euro |
Cordis data
Original description
With 162,000 tons/year, Portugal and Spain have the largest world quota of cork production, being cork stoppers for wine and champagne the “star product”. About 90% of the cork stoppers used worldwide are produced in these two countries. The European Cork Federation established mandatory practices to ensure the quality of the natural stoppers which include several washing, bleaching and disinfection steps. These procedures generate large volumes of wastewaters up to 195,000 m3/year that contain non-biodegradable organic matter, hydrogen peroxide used as disinfectant and different dissolved salts; and constitute a serious risk to environment and human health. The E-CORK project builds on the premise that cork washing wastewaters can be effectively treated by electrochemical advanced oxidation processes. The main goal is to develop an optimized electrochemical treatment line for the depuration and reutilization of cork washing wastewaters taking advantage of the hydrogen peroxide in the main effluent (from by-product to reactant), attending not only to the treatment performance, but also to its technical, economic and environmental feasibility. With this approach and bearing in mind the possibility of reuse the regenerated wastewaters, the E-CORK project aims to revolutionize the cork industry towards a circular economy. The inherent responsibility of Portugal and Spain R&D to promote cleaner and more cost-efficient technologies that safeguard cork production and aquatic environments; the close link with the industrial needs; and the experience of the candidate and supervisor at University of Coimbra, make the perfect conditions to successfully develop this project.Status
CLOSEDCall topic
WF-03-2020Update Date
21-11-2024
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