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Life Libernitrate, sustainability applied to rice cultivation

  • October 8th, 2020
Life Libernitrate, sustainability applied to rice cultivation

The Life Libernitrate project aims to solve the problem of nitrates in groundwater, improving its quality and ensuring that the population can re-supply itself from the analyzed aquifers. The novelty of the Libernitrate is the construction of a filter formed by the ash from the rice straw, which is capable of retaining the nitrates from the water. Thanks to the filters developed by the project, nitrate reductions of up to 30% are achieved, while providing innovative technology with a lower operating cost. From the environmental point of view, the impact of Libernitrate is very positive, since nitrate contamination is reduced and, at the same time, the rice straw is managed in a sustainable way (avoiding the burning process in the fields).

Linked to the UV Chair of Transformation of the Economic Model, the Water Economics Group  of the University of Valencia, provides the analysis of the economic, social and environmental vision, highlighting the importance of the circular economy within water management projects . The tool through which this test is approached is the quantification of the monetary value of the environmental impact. Thanks to this monetary valuation, the value of the specific action (in this case the implementation of the filters) is obtained, allowing its inclusion in the decision-making process. This approach is in line with the proposal of the Water Framework Directive, which emphasizes the importance of using economic and environmental analyzes that ensure the sustainability of the management of water resources. Currently, this analysis is being carried out and the results corroborate the importance of implementing the filters to reduce the nitrate content of the analyzed groundwater through innovative and sustainable technologies (from an economic and environmental point of view)..