Miembros de la Fundación para la Excelencia Empresarial de Castilla y León han visitado la depuradora de la capital palentina para conocer de primera mano la operación digitalizada y sostenible que se lleva a cabo en esta instalación.

Alliances are the main engine of innovation, prosperity and sustainable development of cities and municipalities. The Foundation for Business Excellence of Castilla y León (Execyl) and Aquona, a company that manages the sustainable water cycle in more than 60 municipalities in the region, have this shared vision that leads them to collaborate in various initiatives for development of the Autonomous Community.
One of these activities took place today at the Palencia wastewater treatment plant. Under the title 'Digitization and Innovation, keys to the transformation of the Palencia treatment plant in the Biofactory', the conference focused on showing the participants the low-carbon management model based on the circular economy with which Aquona operates in the Palencia capital, to later make a guided tour of the facilities.
Around 15 representatives of the Castilian-Leon business fabric have been received at the treatment plant by Javier del Sol, manager of Aquona in the city. "From EXECyL we want to show our gratitude to Aquona for opening the doors of the treatment plant and sharing with our partners their experience in sustainable development, digitization and innovation," commented Paco Hevia, president of EXECyL who was also present at the visit.
Subsequently, the Director of Sustainable Development, Laura de Vega, has transferred the keys to the sustainable development strategy that allow the company to contribute to the SDGs and the United Nations 2030 Agenda from the efficient management of water and resources, maintaining a firm commitment to the social welfare of people. "Digitization, innovation and social commitment constitute the bases and values ​​of our strategy", stated Laura de Vega.
Planet, People and Prosperity are the axes around which Aquona establishes its commitments and achievements in terms of sustainability, in which the fight against climate change stands out. In this last point, the "efforts are focused on reducing emissions through the purchase of green energy, compensation, sustainable mobility and energy production", she stressed from Vega. And it is that 100% of the energy that Aquona consumes is of renewable origin, in addition to having the carbon footprint registry according to ISO 14,064, having avoided the emission of 2,400 tons of Co2 producing energy and having 56% of its sustainable fleet.
Consuelo de Juana, responsible for the treatment plant, has been in charge of counting the advances in the field of biodiversity. “We have been working on the naturalization of facilities for years and we have applied measures such as the release of the use of phytosanitary products in 100% of the facilities we manage or the program for the observation and care of birds in the plants, BiObserva, which has exceeded the 4,400 observations in Palencia, León, Zamora, Segovia and Benavente.

Paradigm shift
Undoubtedly, the topic that has aroused the greatest interest from the audience is the transformation of the Palencia treatment plant into a biofactory, changing the paradigm from linear to circular. The level of thermal use of this plant already reaches 100% and its energy self-sufficiency 65%. In addition, "100% of the sludge produced in the purification process is valued, allocating it to agriculture", stressed Laura de Vega who added that the "recovery of sands for use as composting" or as waste material is also being addressed. backfilling in works and trenches. Regarding water reuse, "part of the treated water is being used to irrigate gardens", De Vega pointed out. The protection of biodiversity and the involvement of the local community close the cycle in this transformation process.
In addition, the Palencia WWTP is one of the application scenarios of the European INTERREG ECOVAL project. With a budget of 1.4 million euros, this initiative is based on the recovery of sludge and urban solid waste to obtain high value-added volatile fats for the plastics, lubricants or agrochemical industries. The Junta de Castilla y León, the City Council of Palencia and Aquona, together with other partners, are promoting the project coordinated by CETAQUA, the Agbar water technology center, a group to which Aquona belongs.
For his part, José Antonio del Rey, Aquona's Director of Operations, has addressed the benefits of the implementation of technological solutions in the management of the water cycle. The information provided by the monitoring processes and Big Data “allows us to anticipate, make decisions to maintain the quality and continuity of the service while increasing the hydraulic and energy efficiency of the treatment stations; in short, to carry out a predictive and digital asset management ”, has assured José Antonio del Rey.
 

As regards treatment plants such as the one in Palencia, in which the water treatment operation is “100% digitalized”, as José Antonio has pointed out, “automation means that it is the system itself that regulates the operation in real time based on the parameters measured with the sensors, without the need for personnel to intervene directly and only have to supervise it ”. Createch is the name of the technological solution that Aquona has implemented in the Palencia and Benavente treatment plants.
The day ended with a great family photo. "The visit allowed us to learn about the concrete example of the transformation of the Palencia treatment plant into a biofactory and extract transversal learning to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of companies in Castilla y León" Finally, Susana Aguado, director of EXECyL, pointed out.
About EXECyL
The Castilla y León Foundation for Business Excellence, EXECyL, has become the main forum for exchanging experiences between companies committed to excellence and promoting good business practices in Castilla y León. With its work since 2006, it has established itself as a forum for learning, transformation and the collaborative economy of the economic actors of the Autonomous Community in order to improve the competitiveness of the Castilian and Leonese business fabric.
With a focus on excellence and thanks to the commitment of its nearly one hundred associate companies representing different sectors and sizes, it is a foundation that is especially rich in knowledge. The exchange of experiences and visions among its members has become the ideal formula to collaboratively face the challenges that, as professionals, as companies and as a society, we have ahead. Currently, the Foundation works in 7 lines of activity: Excellence, Competitiveness, Sustainability, Digitization, Small Business, Women and Talent.