- The consortium, formed by Bodega Matarromera, Ence Energía y Celulosa and Pago de Carraovejas, verifies that the pulp from the recovered vine shoot waste is optimal for the production of paper and its subsequent use in the manufacture of cardboard boxes and renewable wine labels.
- VINEBOX™ aims to boost the wine sector to prevent the burning of vine pruning waste and comply with the requirements of the new Waste Law, offering a sustainable solution to the wine sector.
- The VINEBOX™ innovation project offers added value to vine shoots for possible use in the food industry due to their antioxidant and microbial capacity or the use of 3D aerogels as biodegradable thermal insulators to protect wine during transport.
The VINEBOX™ project, promoted by Bodega Matarromera, Ence – Energía Celulosa and Pago de Carraovejas, ends by demonstrating new sustainable ways of using vine pruning waste. The study, which has been carried out over two years, has focused on re-evaluating the management of the collection and collection of vine shoot prunings in the Ribera del Duero DO. The treated vine shoot has been used for the production of renewable cellulose pulp and its validation to obtain paper, which has been used in the manufacture of labels and cardboard boxes for wine, meeting all the parameters of hardness and resistance.
Through this R&D project, the consortium has shown that it is technically feasible to replace part of the cellulose from tree species with raw material from recovered vine shoots. It also concludes that one of the fundamental aspects for efficient and sustainable vine shoot management is to have collection points close to the vineyard that have recovery machinery with production capacities in accordance with the volume of vine shoot obtained. Lastly, this project aims to encourage all those involved in the wine sector to obtain large quantities of vine shoot in order to be able to increase pulp production in the near future.
This project has identified an opportunity for the sustainable management of pruning waste in the wine sector, in order to comply with the requirements of the new Law 7/2022 on Waste and Contaminated Soil for a Circular Economy, which does not allow the burning of plant waste generated in the agricultural environment. The VINEBOX™ project provides relevant scientific-technical solutions based on pillars such as sustainability and digitalisation, social and territorial structuring and gender equality of the National Plan for Recovery, Transformation and Resilience 2021-2026.
With regard to the environmental benefits, the valorisation of vine shoots reduces the emissions produced by the burning of pruning waste that is usually carried out in the sector and, therefore, reduces the carbon footprint from 44 tonnes of CO2 produced by the burning of vine shoots to 25 tonnes of CO2 from packaging and transport.
The project, co-financed by the European Union and the Centre for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI) with ERDF funds, has a budget of 879,539.00 € and an execution time of 30 months.
In addition, the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA-CSIC), the Technological Institute of Packaging, Transport and Logistics (ITENE), and the company Athisa, which provides solutions for the collection and collection service of prunings from vine shoots, are also participating as subcontractors for the companies.
‘Sustainability has been a hallmark of Bodega Matarromera since its inception. A commitment that is carried out in all areas of the company through our own strategic plan called ‘Matarromera Sostenible en Planeta Tierra’, which includes measures such as reducing energy dependence and emissions, ecological production and spherical economy. Our commitment to the environment through the reuse and recovery of co-products from our production processes is such that we have a specific line of research for this purpose, within which the ‘VINEBOXTM’ project is framed. Through this project, we have managed to recover the pruning remains from 280 hectares of vineyards in the D.O. Ribera del Duero, obtaining 220 Tm of recovered vine shoots and estimating the productivity in recovered vine shoots from our vineyards at 0.78 tons per hectare, which means a total of more than 500 Tm of recovered vine shoots from the pruning remains of the vineyards of Bodegas Familiares Matarromera’, says Carlos Moro, president of Bodegas Familiares Matarromera. ‘We have obtained cardboard boxes and sustainable labels from recovered vine shoot that we use in our family of organic wines GRANZA, which allow us to boost the spherical economy of our processes and reuse co-products of wine origin’, he adds.
Antonio Casal, Ence’s Pulp Business Development Director, highlighted the importance of innovation and sustainability in the search for new solutions within the bioeconomy. ‘This project represents a further step in our commitment to the transition to a circular economy, demonstrating that it is possible to harness natural resources such as vine shoots for the production of high quality cellulose’.
Casal underlined the fundamental role of the collaboration between the different agents in the wine and technology sector to make this initiative possible: ‘The involvement of pioneering wineries and the cooperation with specialised entities have been key to validate the viability of vine stalks as a renewable raw material. The paper reel produced is tangible proof that we continue to make progress in the development of sustainable solutions that add value to the sector and reduce environmental impact’.
‘At Alma Carraovejas, sustainability is a value that permeates all processes and has become part of our DNA. We are committed to a culture of care and have acquired the commitment to protect our environment by implementing measures that generate a positive impact for future generations. Seeking to achieve sustainable development throughout the value chain and focusing efforts on promoting a circular economy that generates alternatives to the waste generated throughout the production process. With the VINEBOX™ innovation project, we have demonstrated the possibility of closing the cycle by using the material from vine shoots for a previously unknown use. An action that not only allows us to protect the environment, but also enables us to achieve sustainability in all its dimensions and to be consistent with our values and philosophy’, says Pedro Ruiz, CEO of Alma Carraovejas.
In addition, through the VINEBOX™ project, the consortium members have worked together with the researcher Amparo López Rubio from IATA (CSIC) in the search for innovative alternatives for obtaining high added value products from the use of vine shoot prunings. Pago de Carraovejas has focused its efforts on determining the antioxidant and microbial capacity of vine shoot extracts for possible use in the food industry, while Bodega Matarromera has focused its efforts on the development of biodegradable ‘3D aerogel’ thermal insulators to protect wine from temperature fluctuations during transport.
On the other hand, in collaboration with Athisa, the economic profitability of using recovered vine shoots for the production of electricity has been studied. It has been quantified that one tonne of recovered vine shoot is capable of producing the same energy as 487 L of diesel. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that the calorific value of vine shoot pellets is similar to that of olive pits and that the greenhouse gas emissions generated by vine shoot pellets are lower than those of olive pits.
