in the surrounding areas, leads to better health
treated annually, which can be recycled for further use in the factor
to build and run the project, boosting the local economy
reduced annually by providing a sustainable fuel source and removing methane emissions from the atmosphere
The proposed project was implemented at Sahamitr Tapioca Chonburi factory in 2005. The production capacity of the plant is 100 tons of native starch per day which generates 1300 m3 of wastewater for every production day. Before the implementation of proposed project, the wastewater from the starch plant was treated in 12 cascading open anaerobic lagoons, with a retention time of more than a year. The minimum depth of these ponds is more than 2 m. from water surface and the average atmospheric temperature in the region is 28 degree Celsius which these conditions result anaerobic environment within the ponds. The result from anaerobic digester is methane generation from organic (characterized by chemical oxygen demand or COD) content in wastewater. The proposed project activity entails the installation of an anaerobic covered lagoon at the existing starch plant. The anaerobic covered lagoon is installed at the third sequentially open lagoon which its depth is 7 meters. The anaerobic digester lagoon generates biogas and the generated biogas is kept by High Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE), avoiding methane emissions to the atmosphere. The captured methane is used as fuel in existing heat generating devices in the starch plant replacing heavy fuel oil, leading to further CO2 reductions by replacing a fossil fuel. The further plan is that the plant will install 250kW gas engine to produce electricity which will lead to reduction of fossil energy based electricity import from the grid. This given action will reduce the CO2 emission from the coal electricity generation from the grid provider.
This project significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions by capturing methane and providing an alternative energy resource to the burning of fossil fuels. The construction and operation of the project have provided direct and indirect employment to the local community, providing capacity building to workers in the area. The recycling of treated wastewater promotes sustainability in the water supply while preventing groundwater shortages for local communities. The project also has positive impacts on the local environment by improving the air quality of the surrounding areas.
