OUR
PROJECTS
We have joint research projects with our allies regarding the circular economy in agriculture.
RESEARCH PROJECTS.
Our research projects are related to the different areas of work of RedECA: cultivation of microalgae in wastewater and use of microalgae biomass in the formulation of biostimulants for agriculture. Development of bioertilizers from agro-industrial wastes that reduce the leaching of nitrogen and phosphorus, help to remediate the soils and reduce the accumulation of cadmium in plants.
Sustainable use of agro-industrial waste for the formulation of biofertilizers, biostimulants and materials for the immobilization of metals in soils
It is a three-year project that began in June 2019 and is funded by Minciencias (Colombia). The Universidad de Medellín, the Universidad EAFIT , the Institución Universitaria Pascual Bravo and the Autonomous University of Barcelona work together in this project.
This project seeks to develop biofertilizers, biostimulants and biomaterials that reduce nitrogen and phosphorus losses in the water so that agricultural productivity is increased and the environmental impact is reduced; and that also serves as an alternative to reduce the
Cd translocation in plants. The aim is to develop these biomaterials from waste from the poultry industry and from microalgae biomass, grown in dairy wastewater, also serving as a treatment for these waters. By using agro-industrial waste to generate value-added by-products, it is expected to close production cycles in those industries.
​
Biomaterials derived from agro-industrial waste and materials with nanoparticulate components for the improvement of plant nutrition and immobilization of cadmium in Theobroma cacao
It is a two-year project that began in January 2020 and has the joint participation of the Universidad EAFIT, the Universidad de Medellín, the Institución Universitaria Pascual Bravo and the Universidad de Antioquia.
This project seeks to improve the competitiveness of the agricultural sector, especially of cocoa, through the development of a nano-fertilizer, to improve the characteristics of the soil and nourish of the plants. This formulation is being developed based on a nanostructured system that is biologically compatible with cocoa crops, which consists of aqueous colloidal dispersions, which allows them to be integrated into irrigation systems, does not release living organisms into the environment and the materials are 100% Colombian in origin.
​
Optimization of photobioreactor lighting for the sustainable use of microalgal biomass in biofertilizer and biostimulant for the mitigation of nitrogen and phosphorus in tropical soils
It was a one-year project that began in July 2020 and was funded by Minciencias (Colombia). The project was led by the Universidad EAFIT, but the Universidad de Medellín and the Institución Universitaria Pascual Bravo also participated in it.
This project aimed to optimize the lighting of the reactors where microalgae were grown in residual waters in order to maximize biomass production for the formulation of biofertilizers. The project evaluated the effectiveness of microalgal biomass in mitigating the loss of nitrogen and phosphorus in tropical soils, and its biostimulant effect. The project also intended to standardize bioassays for the evaluation of the biostimulant effect of the formulations obtained, using computer vision techniques and pattern recognition in photographs of seeds.