French multinational Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) has broken ground on the world’s largest citrus effluent-to-biogas plant, reported Valor International. Based in Bebedouro, São Paulo in Brazil, the site will be close to where the company’s primary orange juice processing plant is based.
Designed to handle 390 cubic meters per hour of juice industry effluents, the plant is expected to generate 7 million normal cubic meters of gas per hour (Nm3/h) within two to three years.
The amount invested was not disclosed, but the company said it is in the ‘substantial double-digit millions of dollars’. Citrus effluents are liquid waste generated during the processing of oranges and lemons, such as from fruit washing. These contain organic compounds that, when properly treated, can be converted into biogas.
The biogas will replace natural gas in industrial processes. Additionally, LDC’s system will allow for 100% of the treated water to be returned to the Paiol River, in the same municipality.
According to Paulo Hladchuk, LDC’s global head of juice operations, the goal is to cut fossil fuel costs by 50%. The biogas output is expected to meet 100% of Bebedouro’s energy needs.
