From agro-industrial waste to bioeconomy solutions
On 20–21 October 2026, the VALZEO team joins the Global Bioeconomy Summit in Dublin to share four years of results on turning rice husk ash into zeolite materials for cleaner water and greener biodiesel.
Every year, rice processing leaves behind large amounts of husk ash, a low-value residue that usually ends up as waste. At the same time, Europe faces strict new wastewater requirements and pollutants that conventional treatment cannot fully remove. VALZEO links these two challenges, and on 20–21 October 2026 the project brings its results to the Global Bioeconomy Summit 2026 (GBS2026) at The Convention Centre Dublin (CCD).
From residue to solution
Funded by the EU’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Staff Exchanges programme, VALZEO has spent four years bringing together universities, research centres and companies from Spain, Italy, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Cuba. Together they have built a full value chain:
- Silica is extracted from rice husk ash.
- That silica is used to make zeolites with metal oxide nanoparticles and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).
- These materials are used for water treatment and as catalysts for biodiesel production.
What VALZEO has achieved
Results reported by the consortium, at laboratory scale unless stated otherwise, include:
- More than 29 emerging contaminants degraded at the same time in real river water by an Fe–Cu zeolite catalyst activated by visible light, which also inactivated coliform bacteria.
- Seven reuse cycles without loss of efficiency, a key factor for operating costs.
- Reproducible synthesis of zeolites A and X from silica extracted from rice husk ash, a low-cost, waste-derived raw material.
- Two applications validated in the lab: water treatment (adsorption and photo-Fenton) and catalysts for biodiesel from vegetable oils, with pilot-scale validation in the project’s final phase.
Meet the VALZEO team in Dublin
GBS2026 brings together the global bioeconomy community, and VALZEO will be there to meet the people who can take its results further.
- María Rodrigo Moya, PhD researcher at Universidad Pablo de Olavide (Seville), will present VALZEO’s work on natural zeolites as solar photocatalysts for water treatment.
- María Dauder Amat, of SITES, the Dublin-based partner leading VALZEO’s communication and dissemination, will be there to connect visitors with the right partners across the consortium.
What VALZEO offers
- SMEs and industry: low-cost materials made from a waste stream, visible-light catalysts and reusable adsorbents for water treatment, and support for pilot testing, licensing and feasibility.
- Researchers: an international EU–Cuba–UK network built through MSCA staff exchanges, synthesis and characterisation know-how on zeolites, MONs and MOFs, and open-access results for joint follow-up proposals.
- Policymakers: evidence on valorising agricultural residues in a circular bioeconomy, solutions for micropollutants under evolving EU wastewater rules, and recommendations on rice-waste valorisation, water treatment and biodiesel.
Let’s collaborate
Whether you are a water-tech SME, a water utility, an agri-food or rice processor, a biodiesel producer, a research centre or a public authority, we would like to talk with you about pilot testing, access to materials and know-how, research collaboration or policy dialogue.
📄 Download the VALZEO brief for GBS 2026: VALZEO_Brief_GBS2026.pdf
📍 Global Bioeconomy Summit 2026, Tuesday 20 & Wednesday 21 October 2026, The Convention Centre Dublin, Ireland (gbs2026.org)
VALZEO consortium: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (coordinator), Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Università Politecnica delle Marche, AERIS Tecnologías Ambientales, SITES, Z Prime, Universidad de La Habana, EEPFIH and Instituto de Investigaciones de Granos.
VALZEO is co-funded by the Horizon Europe Framework Programme of the European Union – Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Grant Agreement No 101086354. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the granting authority.
