FABRICA DE CAFÉ LIOFILIZADO Chinchiná, Colombia 8.000 T de café soluble por año 10 L/s ; 2.6 T DQO/día

BIOTEC was formed in 1984 with the object of developing techniques and methods suitable in the tropics for the treatment of wastewater and organic farm and farming industry waste and for its conversion into valuable industrial, energy and agricultural products, by means of three basic technologies:

• anaerobic treatment
• aerobic composting
• ferti-irrigation

At BIOTEC, we believe that wastewater and organic waste are raw materials, which must be used, in order to promote socio-economic development and in particular agriculture and energy-related projects suited to the economic capacities of the applicants.
This explains why we are not in the habit of applying to tropical or Mediterranean countries the models used in industrial countries and why we favour anærobic systems of treatment of wastewater if it is feasible, because they have a low operating cost and maintenance, and moreover generate biogas.

The use of biogas is mentioned in the Kyoto agreements for the purposes of reduction of the consumption of fossil fuels.

The Tropics offer comparative advantages such as:

• high and generally stable temperatures, ideal for anærobic systems but also for ærobic compost and for ferti-irrigation
• ongoing growth of vegetation all over the year
• strong demand for organic matter for soil, due to its high rates of mineralisation (due to the high temperature and humidity)
• general use of irrigation systems, which can facilitate the low cost application of treated wastewater.

These are the broad outlines of the essential criteria, which motivate our entrepreneurial policy. For more information we invite you to visit this site.

BIOTEC was established in Colombia in 1986 where it developed treatment and re-use systems, suitable for tropical regions. Today, BIOTEC office at Cali in Colombia is the Centre of our network for Latin America.
BIOTEC now has hundreds of references in seven countries (consultancy, engineering works, operating contracts and training contracts). Our customers are generally the end-users, including the agro-industry, the municipalities, private town planning bodies, but also financial and international cooperation organisations.

From 2000 onwards, BIOTEC widened its company objectives to drinking water management in tropical countries, supporting water operators (municipalities, committees or companies) with the object of administrative, technical and financial strengthening.
In recent years (2001) BIOTEC developments extended to temperate climates of the Mediterranean, where wastewater temperature remains above 15°C most of the year, even during the winter months.

Our objective is that of reconciling the socio-economic interest with environmental protection, or in other words to meet and reconcile ecology and economy for the common benefit.
A treatment plant can and must become an instrument of development

KEY WORDS
Anaerobic treatment, UASB reactors, covered anærobic lagoons (or ponds)
biogas, re-use, ferti-irrigation, compost, drinking water and sanitation management