METABOLISM WATERPOORT

Towards a biobased economy

In Waterpoort, at the river delta of the Rijn-Schelde, combinations of fortunate conditions lead the region towards a biobased economy. The epic center of this transition is the Open Innovation Campus Groene Chemie in Bergen op Zoom. Here new methods of using local agricultural waste (e.g. beet pulp and manure) as resources for performance materials, chemicals and coatings are being developed. These methods are upscaled and tested at Biobase Europe in Gent before being implemented in factories in and around Waterpoort. The waste heat and CO2 emissions of these factories are being reused in greenhouses which in return produce agricultural waste as resources for production. In closing the cycles of energy, water and materials a lot of potential connections have yet to be made. An existing multicore underground pipeline (buisleidingenstraat) between Rotterdam and Antwerp may serve as an exchange between the most important areas. Potential new algae farms along the main infrastructure can absorb CO2 and purify waste water and produce even more biomass.