Summary
- Profile Type
- Technology offer
- POD Reference
- TOES20240212014
- Term of Validity
- 12 February 2024 - 11 February 2026
- Company's Country
- Spain
- Type of partnership
- Commercial agreement with technical assistance
- Research and development cooperation agreement
- Targeted Countries
- All countries
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General information
- Short Summary
- Spain, researchers from a Management, Use and Recovery of Soil and Water research group of the Technical University have developed a procedure to detect and evaluate the infiltration produced in slurry ponds, and associated equipment. This technology falls within the sector related to the detection of infiltration into the subsoil and/or groundwater. The invention allows for reduced application time of this method and cost reduction by having more effective data for subsequent analysis .
- Full Description
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This technology has been developed by a research group of Use and Recovery of Soil and Water, from the agronomist engineering faculty.
The evolution of the livestock census, especially porcine, means that a large generation of slurry volume expressed in cubic meters. The high volume of cattle and specifically their excrement results in a growing need to install slurry storage ponds to manage this waste, which in turn implies a series of environmental risks derived from inadequate management in production, storage and distribution processes of slurry. The general procedure currently used for the detection of this type of polluting plumes includes the use of electrical tomography, but not applied directly to the slurry pond, and the taking of soil samples, by carrying out a survey. with core extraction. This process is carried out outside the pond, that is, in the surroundings of the place, since due to the nature of the slurry it makes it very difficult to take measurements inside the pond. A random survey was carried out, without prior information on the state of the subsoil at the site and generating a considerable increase in the associated costs.
The technology consist in a procedure and equipment to detect and evaluate the infiltration of livestock manure into the subsoil on which the slurry storage ponds sit, where the procedure includes:
- the determination of the resistivity values through the use of electrical resistivity tomography, with the provision of some terrestrial profiles with a plurality of stainless steel electrodes; and some internal profiles that unfold inside the raft and consisting of a marine cable with a plurality of graphite electrodes; and where the electrodes are in connection with a resistometer and allow the direct measurement of the characteristics of the subsoil under the slurry pond;
- the execution of the LeFranc permeability test with a minimum depth of 4 meters taken from the level of the base of the pond; and
- the physical-chemical analysis of some samples taken every meter from some mechanical soundings with core extraction .
The University is interested to reach agreement with both companies and research centers.
On the one hand the university is interested in offering licenses to those companies who wants to exploit the technology in Spain. The technology is protected through a Spanish patent, therefore the wide of the protection only affects to the exploitation of the technology in Spain, generating economic rights by licenses only in this case .
On the other hand, it is intended to point out the value of the knowledge of the research group. Giving the complexity of the procedure, the university wants to reach agreements with public and private organization to offer technical assistance for those companies who are interested in the commercialization the technology as for proposing new research projects in this topic. So, the inventors are open to reach commercial agreements with technical support or technical cooperation agreements to exploit this technology around the world. Moreover, the researchers are also interested in research cooperation agreements to continue developing the technology - Advantages and Innovations
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Through this procedure, infiltration into the subsoil, produced in slurry storage ponds, is determined and the degree of impact produced on soils and/or groundwater is established, through the implementation of marine profiles made with the electrical tomography technique. , directly on the organic by-product, without the need to use supports, external connections, and the eventuality involved in implementing said profile, with the consequent reduction in application time and cost reduction by having more effective data for subsequent analysis.
In addition, the present invention presents great advantages over known technologies. On the one hand, it allows a greater number of marine profiles to be carried out in the time required to carry out an aerial profile; and on the other hand, it improves the safety of the operator since the marine profile does not make it necessary to enter the interior of the raft for its implementation as it can be deployed from the shore. While the installation of the aerial profile requires, at a minimum, the entry of a person for its implementation, with the risks that this could entail (fall, inhalation of gases, etc.). Furthermore, the marine profile does not need new elements in each measure (disposable or fungible elements), something that happens with the profile that uses air support.
Additionally, the present invention allows the development of an electrical tomography method, which is the most suitable for this type of study on slurry ponds, where precisely the use of marine cable allows improving the contact between the sensor and the slurry, being in fact a contact straight - Stage of Development
- Available for demonstration
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Goal 15: Life on Land
- Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
- IPR status
- IPR granted
Partner Sought
- Expected Role of a Partner
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The University aims to offer licenses of the technology among the companies in the field of the farms and in the industry of the Animal Husbandry to solve the problem market related to slurry ponds in Spain. In addition to the licenses, the researchers also could be able to offer advising and tehnical services to this type of companies in any country.
The University is also interested to reach research agreement, as a consortium member or under contract, with both, public and private entities for preparing research projects in this topic - Type and Size of Partner
- Big company
- SME 11-49
- R&D Institution
- SME 50 - 249
- University
- Type of partnership
- Commercial agreement with technical assistance
- Research and development cooperation agreement
Dissemination
- Technology keywords
- 07001004 - Crop Production
- Market keywords
- 09005 - Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, Animal Husbandry & Related Products
- Targeted countries
- All countries