IWWG Award “Waste Vision 2100” / Prize ceremony 2023

The Award winner of the 3rd edition is Dr. Valentina Grossule, .
Ph.D. Degree in Environmental Engineering at the University of Padova (IT), she is currently working as a researcher at the same University, where she is teaching Water and wastewater treatment course. Her research activities aim to identify low-tech cost-effective solutions in Environmental Engineering, Waste and Wastewater treatment and management. Her research has been also focused on waste treatments to reduce their emissions potential before the final contaminants sink, the role of landfilling in Circular Economy, particularly on Sustainable landfilling. She is member of IWWG and co-leader of the IWWGyoung task group.

The project proposal is aimed to optimised and engineer a highly innovative biological process, based on the use of Black Soldier Fly larvae (BSFL), for treatment of high organic content wastewater as alternative to traditional systems, to minimise waste production (in terms of excess sludges and digestate) while recovering high value resources within the concept of Circular Economy.
BSF larvae have been widely used for solid biowaste treatment and resource recovery, offering a proper environment for larvae, while the research on the use for liquid substrates treatment is impaired by the fact that BSF larvae are terrestrial insects, typically drowning in pure liquid environment.
The issue has been definitely solved with an innovative patented feeding mode, which consists in the mixing of the liquid substrate with an inert solid support, such as plastic granules, which has the role of providing efficient physical support for larvae mobility (diving for eating and re-emerging for breathing) and achieving the targeted treatment of the liquid substrate.