In Paraná, a system transforms into wealth waste pollutants from the manufacture of cassava flour. This technology is helping agribusinesses to avoid damage to the environment and, even more, making savings and generating income.
The cassava is becoming more popular in Parana. Already more than 170 000 hectares, especially in the region between the north and the west of the state. An estimated annual harvest in about 4 million tons, representing 17% of Brazilian production.
The family of José Anísio Pasquini plant cassava for two decades. “At the time the opportunity arose to work with cassava, soybeans because in our region would not, pasture was also hard enough and then we start with cassava, finding a good deal. We’re there already for 22 years in cassava. “
The Pasquini plant family 1,400 hectares of cassava in the region of New Hope and harvest about 70 tons a day.
In this region of Paraná, cassava is treating noble culture and uses a lot of technology. Planting is practically all mechanized.
The planter takes four workers who only have to supply the implement with the cuttings, the stem of cassava which is used for reproduction plant. The machine cuts the manioc in the right size, put on the ground and already covers with soil.
There are also very careful in the choice of varieties. It is that almost all Paraná production is destined to the industry, which needs raw materials throughout the year. As, of course, cassava produces best between the months of May and August. To have harvest all year, the solution is to plant varieties with different cycles, explains the agronomist Ailton Vantini. “We use varieties in order to make a production schedule. Cassava is that you start with a year and a half and two years. With this you will have cassava throughout the entire year. “
Paraná accounts for almost 70% of starch or cassava starch produced in Brazil. Also called starch, white pozinho, very thin, has several uses. “The starch has a good market both in the food industry and paper industry, chemical industry, among others,” explains Andrew Pasquini, industry manager.
The industry, in the municipality of New Hope, also belongs to the Pasquini family. It processes 400 tons of cassava per day. For the extraction of starch, the root is ground and the mass has to be washed to release the starch.
The juice that comes out of the washing goes to a device that dehydrate and dry the mixture to powder. To heat the water and dryers, industry needs heat, which is generated in traditional systems with burning wood.
In any process, from cleaning to the extraction of starch, using water, lots of water. Around 1 million liters per day.
Every 100 kilograms of cassava yield on average 25 kilograms of starch. What remains is waste. This dough can be used in animal feed, but water from the process, which is called cassava, is pollutant. “This water comes from the industry in the process of grinding cassava, it has all it takes within the cassava root. Soluble starch that has not been transformed into solid starch in the starch which they extract has organic matter coming from the cone cassava, sugars that have not been converted into starch and also cyanide. Cyanide is highly toxic and can not be released into the environment directly, “explains Eduardo Ferreira, agronomist.
Eduardo Ferreira provides environmental permitting services in the region. He works with several potato starch manufacturers and explains that cyanide is a poison present in industrial cassava or manioc, as it is known. It can cause serious damage to people’s health and the environment. Therefore, cassava and it can not be directly discarded in nature. “If you launch directly into water bodies, rivers, it will use the oxygen for decomposition of organic matter and will harm the aquatic fauna.”
To treat cassava, The most common system are ponds built in sequence. Within them, the solid part of the mixture decanted and sinks to the bottom. With sun and action of bacteria in the environment, organic and toxic compounds will degrade. The cleaner water is passing to the other lagoons, to reach the level of purity required by environmental legislation. This process releases bad smell and methane gas, which goes straight into the atmosphere. “It is 21 times more polluting compared to carbon dioxide,” says Eduardo.
To get an idea, a pond with 5000 square meters can produce annually pollution equivalent to burning 5 million liters of gasoline.
The cassava is environmentally friendly but also has a great ability to generate power. That’s where the idea to transform the treatment pond into a giant digester.
was Eduardo who took this model digester to the plant. “The amount generated is great, the organic load that it has, which will turn biogas is great too and the solubility, the rate of decomposition, it degradation is very high. So you can with digesters, small theoretically, extract 95% of the biogas potential of this water, “he explains.
The construction of the digester is relatively simple and inexpensive. It is installed on the first pond, which receives the raw cassava, the way it leaves the factory. It has to be covered with a special plastic for it as well tough. “This one is a high density polyethylene. The factory warranty is five years, but it can last even longer. We have sites that already have six, seven years is working quiet. “
Covering and well blindfolding the lagoon, all the methane gas produced by the fermentation process and degradation organic matter is retained. After the gas is sent to the industry for an underground pipe. It takes around 10 days to manipueira be turned into gas. “We are producing 250kg of CNG per hour.”
The production equivalent to 19 per hour cooking gas canisters. Enough for food industry equipment that heat the water and dehydrate the starch. With this, the company has virtually eliminated the burning of firewood. “We spent approximately R $ 400,000 to build the entire structure and we are having a savings of approximately R $ 40 thousand per month in the wood burning boiler. In 10 months we pay the investment and then we was just having the benefit “guarantees Andrew.
The installation of the digester does not eliminate the need for complex treatment ponds. Only now, the water is returned to the river comes out much cleaner and faster. “Every month is made analysis in the laboratory, to analyze all the parameters that the environmental agency requires to be able to release this water into the river. It comes with high potential polluter, say 100%. Of these 100%, 1% or 2% of what remains is here at the end. Those 2% left over will not harm the environment, “explains Eduardo.
Another company, which has three potato starch manufacturers in the region, is doing more. Paulo Lopes, owner of the company, has already implemented the digester at all plants. “We spent approximately around R $ 1.2 million. It’s pretty, but it was worth it because it brought a very large economy, more than R $ 100,000 monthly. ”
In addition to power generation, the people are taking advantage of all that remains of the starch production.
After the extraction of gas, this process still remains water and a very water rich in nutrients. Therefore, it is ideal for use in fertigation systems. “We have all the nutrients, the macro and micro. But expensive, heavier fertilization, are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which we have aplenty. This water would be interesting in their own cassava to pasture, coffee, coconut. All she needs is potassium. Potassium is one of the most expensive elements and we have left. “
In an integrated system with the creation of beef cattle, the mass of cassava, which is free of cyanide after processing, go trough feeding the animals. The bio-fertilizer is used to fertilize pastures. “The expectation is to play around 350 kg of nitrogen, 50 kg phosphorus and 400 kg of potassium. It is an excellent fertilizer. And we can irrigate an area of 250 hectares with this water, “explains Eduardo Ferreira.
In fertigation, and nutrients the plants receive water and the grass is green and productive all year. Even in the winter time. Neno Lopes, son of Paul, says he can now also plant more demanding grasses in fertilization, as the star grass and thifiton. Thus has been able to increase the capacity of the pickets. “We kept here without fertigation, an average of two animals per hectare. Today with fertigation and more mass, can have 10 heads per hectare. “
Less pollution, less deforestation, integration and economy. With so many advantages, today there are already more than 40 digesters installed in potato starch manufacturers of Parana. Companies are learning that produce sustainably is good for everyone.
This technology can also be used by other industries that produce waste similar to those of cassava. In addition to the forty digesters installed in Parana, there are already another 20 scattered potato starch manufacturers in Brazil.
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