{"id":4452,"date":"2023-10-31T10:51:59","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T09:51:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bioga.org\/?p=4452"},"modified":"2023-10-31T16:23:05","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T15:23:05","slug":"ecocelta-patents-europes-first-ever-mascot-sand-made-of-mussel-shell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bioga.org\/en\/ecocelta-patents-europes-first-ever-mascot-sand-made-of-mussel-shell\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecocelta patents Europe\u00b4s first ever mascot sand made of mussel shell"},"content":{"rendered":"
Arenamar is already being sold in Gadisa establishments. Ecocelta, trough a Circular Economy project, also registered in 2019 the world’s first organic fertilizer with ecologic certification based on molusc’s shell residue.<\/strong><\/h6>\n

PONTEAREAS. 26\/10\/2023. The biotech firm Ecocelta<\/a>, dedicated to the development and production of biofertilizers, as well as enviromental management, established in Ponteareas, and partner to the Life Sciences Technological Business Cluster (Bioga)<\/a>, developed, patented and launched two innovative products into the market, based on mussel shell residue. <\/strong>These are the world’s first patented biofertilizer with an ecological certification for acidic soil, named Celtacal <\/strong>(registered in 2019), and the first ecological hygienic pet sand, named Arenamar<\/strong>, patented this year’s August.<\/p>\n

Arenamar is the most recently developed product by Ecocelta<\/a>‘s R&D&i team. <\/strong>“It is a local solution, a sustainable alternative to the extractive process needed to develop this type of product all over the world”, points out Sergio Quiroga, CEO of Ecocelta<\/strong><\/a>, who adds that this product has already been launched to market and is being sold all troughout Gadisa establishments. “These molusc shell residue developed products are a direct result of a five year research project about Circular Economy, with the goal of solving an enviromental issue in Galicia”. Sergio Quiroga predicts that “mussel shell waste could now be recycled in a viable and sustainable way”.<\/p>\n

Galicia’s canning industry generates around 90.000 tons of mussel shell waste each year. “The enviromental impact is self evident if the treatment of this natural waste is not appropriate”, points our Sergio Quiroga. Ecocelta<\/a>, together with representatives from the canning and molusc treatment industries, started a project in 2017 that served to develop the Celtacal Method, a sustainable and local molusc shell waste treatment method, which enlisted the aid of the Galician Innovation Agency (GAIN<\/a>), trough the InnovaPeme program. <\/strong>This research allowed for the development of a biofertilizer named Celtacal, the first ever organic, whitewashing fertilizer in the world, made with mussel shell as its main ingredient.<\/p>\n

The process was protected trough a patent made in 2019. Commercialization started in 2020.<\/strong> The biofertilizer Celtacal is indicated for use on acidic soils, prevalent in Galicia, specially vineyards and vegetable gardens. Ecocelta<\/strong><\/a>, come 2021, sells the patent and Celtacal SL, a company that possesses the patent and commercializes this innovative product together with Ecocelta<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Natural litter for pets<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Ecocelta<\/strong><\/a>‘s R&D&i department, of their own inniciative, and with no external aid, moves forward with their Circular Economy project. And in the beggining of 2022, they certifiy that an inorganic subproduct originating from Celtacal’s manufacturing is suited for sepiolite sand, commonly used as pet litter, <\/strong>specially cats. Sergio Quiroga highlights that “current sepoilite consumption, an absorbing mineral used as a base for pet litter sand, is large scale, of extractive origin and non compostable”.
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Ecocelta<\/strong> <\/a>decides to continue their research and concludes that this innovative product has special properties when it comes to eliminating cat litter smell. The company decides, facing the results of their project, to design a prototype package and launches a Lean Startup in order to measure market response. Come March 2023, the product launches in Gadisa’s chain of establishments. Ecocelta<\/a> obtains the Arenamar patent in August 2023<\/strong>, a completely natural, hygienic litter, presented as a locally sourced alternative to the pet sands previously available on the market.<\/p>\n

In Spain alone, there are currently around six million registered cats. Each cat consumes an average of 200kg of cat litter sand per year. “Processing all of the residual mussel shell in Galicia, you could manufacture enough sand for 375.000 cats”, calculates Sergio Quiroga, who highlights “this would solve an enviromental problem tending to the demand of only 6,5% of the cats present in Spain”.<\/p>\n

More Information: Bioga’s Communications Cabinet: 679.486.961<\/strong><\/p>\n

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