Pineapple Producers Grow Green Energy

One of the world’s largest pineapple producers has transformed its waste water into a source of profit by using advanced anaerobic technology from Global Water Engineering (Indonesia) to extract green energy from a biological waste stream.

Indonesia’s PT Great Giant Pineapple company - the world’s third largest producer of pineapples, supplying 15 per cent of global demand - now produces more than 30,000 Nm3 of methane biogas a day to supplement and replace fuel oil and coal used in its boilers.

In addition to exceeding its design performance for biogas production, the tapioca starch and pineapple canning plant has also far exceeded its design performance for COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) removal efficiency, achieving 98 per cent removal.

The company - which prides itself on its logo “Go Green and More Organic” – has achieved some of the world’s best environmental outcomes whilst saving money, says Global Water Engineering Founder and Chief Executive Officer Mr Jean Paul Ombregt.

“In addition to outstanding waste removal from process water (results proven over more than a year since the plant was commissioned) they have also spared themselves the cost and need to burn many more tonnes of fuel oil and coal. As petroleum climbs beyond $US100 a barrel – and could easily spike way above this – the Great Giant Pineapple company is setting an example of world significance in terms of cleanliness, conservation and waste management.

The GWE plant at PT Great Giant Pineapple in Lampung Indonesia has passed all the guaranteed process performance requirements. Its Process Acceptance Certificate also says that the plant – designed, engineered, constructed and commissioned by GWE – manages and treats correctly without any problems, all the effluence coming from the pineapple canning factory and the tapioca starch factory.

The process employed in Lampung comprises equalisation basin, screening, primary clarifier, pH control, ANUBIX B (UASB) 4894 m3 methane reactors, biogas safety flare, biogas blowers, biogas use in two thermal oil boilers and one coal-fired fluidized bed type steam boiler.