Linking education and innovation in urban waste water treatment plants through final degree projects

Resumen

Universities play an important role in guiding future talent into an innovative environment, where industries and academia can collaborate, being the students the protagonists. In this work data obtained at lab-scale, by an Industrial Engineering student, below the specialty of Industrial Organization, from the University of Vigo in Spain, in collaboration with the Chemical Engineering department of the same University, were used to establish a collaborative model between academic, research and an industry sector related with the treatment of urban waste water. Therefore, data obtained at lab-scale were included in the final degree project of this student and were used for the student to propose a new technology for the stabilization of sludge sewage, in an urban waste water treatment plant, located in the north west of Spain, with the aim of removing hydrophobic contaminants and give a more stable sludge sewage [1]. The novelty of this technology is based on the utilization of a natural detergent, as stabilizing agent, during the tertiary treatment of sludge sewage. This is an unstable semi-solid waste or slurry, that before its disposal or application to land should undergo different treatments in order to reduce their content in hydrophobic contaminants. The student developed a case of sustainable waste management, where a residue, coming from corn milling industry, was converted in a natural detergent, with applications in an urban waste water treatment plant, in order to obtain more safety products and contributing this way to a circular economy. The study represents an example of a positive network between academia and industry employing natural resources. Usually Spanish universities have difficulties to find students who are early adopters by the industries for collaborating in small initiatives, probably because these initiatives are far away of real industrial sceneries. The technology presented in this work, carried out by an industrial engineering student, during her final degree project, could contribute to refine the tertiary treatment of sludge sewage in urban waste water treatment plants, combining education and innovation. In this work, the student not only obtained experimental data, but also stablished theoretical calculations at industrial scale, for the incorporation of this technology in a real scenery, linking education, research and industry. It is expected that studies like this can contribute to the transference of technology from the universities to the industrial sectors and can stablish new networks between the