BHS-Sonthofen Contributed to Biomass Projects in the Philippines
USA-based Dole Inc. generates large amounts of pineapple waste, which the company uses to produce biogas in the Philippines.
Dole is looking to generate nearly eight MW of power per year at the two plants, Surallah and Polomolok, German company BHS-Sonthofen reported this year. To achieve this goal, the plants deploy Biogrinders from BHS to efficiently process substrate.
Pineapple waste is the main raw material for local
biogas production (Photo: BHS-Sonthofen)
Pineapple waste has a high-energy content. “To facilitate the uptake of nutrients from the waste by the microorganisms in the fermenters, it must first be defibered to achieve reliable, efficient gas production,” the firm specialized in machinery and plant engineering explained. “Defibering und crushing technology from BHS-Sonthofen plays a key role in this step. MEBA Biogas, which is the exclusive distribution partner of BHS-Sonthofen and also supplies feed-in and processing systems for Dole’s biogas plants in the Philippines, installed the first of two Biogrinders in 2021. The RBG 08 Biogrinder, including the screw unit and control system, went into operation at the production facility in Surallah in August 2021, where it has been used to defiber pineapple waste ever since.” This machine was able to process up to 40 metric tons of waste an hour, while also delivering maximum energy efficiency. “The contaminant-resistant Biogrinder can be fitted with two, three, or four hammers on each level. In Hardox or stainless-steel models, this can be done on up to two levels. As an added plus, tool changes and upgrades can be carried out in just a few steps.”
The second Dole biogas plant at the Polomolok facility in the Philippines was expected to go online in 2022, BHS-Sonthofen referred to MetPower Venture Partner’s estimates. Metpower is a waste management, industrial gases, and bioenergy subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) and has an exclusive partnership for biogas tanks in the Philippines with Lipp GmbH, a Germany-based tank construction specialist with over 55 years of experience utilizing anaerobic digestion to produce biogas.
As stated by MPIC, a Philippine-based, publicly-listed investment management and holding company, it views this business as a long-term solution for food and agricultural companies, industrial facilities, cities, and municipalities to address their organic waste management issues. In addition to this, Metpower was also able to produce clean energy and organic fertilizer as by-products.
www.bhs-sonthofen.com/en
www.mpic.com.ph
(Published in GLOBAL RECYCLING Magazine 2/2022, Page 42, Photo: BHS-Sonthofen)
