One of the biggest challenges of the 21st century is the search for alternatives to petrochemical production of chemicals and fuels. One approach is the use of biomass, especially in the food industry. Several economic systems are already operating on an industrial scale for the production of bioethanol.
Axel Haase, in conjunction with Oliver Kopsch of DWC Germany, conducted a hands-on training workshop at INA, the national vocational training institute of Costa Rica. In this workshop, under supervision, students constructed an integrated water management system which included: waste water collection site, constructed wetland, a buffer tank and lake, installation of an ultra filtration system, and a rain and well water mixing system and a reverse osmosis system.
The main objective of the SOLARDIST project is the treatment of the liquid waste generated in small olive oil mills, many of them with no economically adequate treatment system, by means of a combination of a solar distillation process and constructed wetlands. In addition to this, the organic solid was generated during the process of making the olive oil, is proposed to be composted in order to provide an environmentally friendly solution to this residue problem.