Winery 2006 IV International Specialized Conference on Sustainable Viticulture: Winery Wastes and Ecology Impact Management
AJ Banks Travel Bursar James Strong reports from Chile
 I recently had the privilege of attending the Winery 2006 IV International Specialized Conference on Sustainable Viticulture: Winery Wastes and Ecology Impact Management, held in Viña del Mar, Chile, from 5-8 November.
Winery waste treatment and management has been gaining importance at an international level. At the same time, legislation has evolved significantly during the last few years and is now a fundamental reference for optimal environment management. The conference was aimed at researchers, waste managers, consultants, producers, administrators from the public and private sectors, environmental engineers, industrial producers, businesses and other related professionals. The scope of the conference included all aspects related to a sustainable viticulture, which considers the whole life cycle of wine and all the environmental aspects that should be taken into account.
Although it was not a large conference, it was extremely relevant to my work, and I had much difficulty choosing between the oral presentations as they were all worth attending. I was exposed to a number of remediation methods that I knew from journal papers; and was able to meet the scientists conducting the research. Theire talks ranged from aerobic, anaerobic and physical and chemical treatments of wine related wastewaters to the characterisation of wastes from various seasons and cultivars. I met delegates from Spain, Australia, Chile, USA and South Africa, and hope that I – and my colleagues – may collaborate with some of them in future.
On the second day of the conference I gave my oral presentation. Although I was nervous, I managed to deliver it without stammering or hitting memory blanks and covered the initial research for my PhD, Bioremediation of a distillery waste using white rot fungi and the production of a high value enzyme. Essentially the work covers the screening of number of fungi for suitability at submerged treatment of a distillery wastewater and examines whether high concentrations of an enzyme called laccase can be produced. This work will be published in a special edition of Water, Science and Technology.
| Wetland treatment of the wastewaters is now booming, demonstrating the shift towards low maintenance but efficient technologies |
It was interesting to note the shift in treatment methods. Much of the literature I had read regarding anaerobic digestion from the 1990s suggested that refractory compounds in the wastewater inhibits bioremediation. But research over the last decade has shown initial scepticism to be misplaced, as the winery wastewaters have been shown to be easily digestible. Wetland treatment of the wastewaters is now booming, demonstrating the shift towards low maintenance but efficient technologies.
After the conference I had a few days spare before heading back to South Africa, so I took a bus to Pucon, about 800km south of Santiago. Here I had the opportunity to hike up a still active volcano called Villarica (see photo). Although I could only hobble for the next few days, it was a unique experience and well worth the effort.
I am extremely grateful to SCI, the AJ Banks Travel Bursaries and Monica Iglesias for the contribution that made my trip to an international conference possible. My thanks must also go to the Joint Research Committee of Rhodes University and Dr Jo Burgess for all her work towards obtaining funding so that I could attend this conference.
James Strong
Rhodes University
South Africa
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