Smithfield Foods Generates Renewable Natural Gas from Wastewater
Smithfield Foods is producing renewable natural gas (RNG) from the wastewater treatment system at its Tar Heel, North Carolina pork processing facility, according to a release from the company. The project is a partnership with Duke Energy and OptimaBio and will help power more than 2,000 local homes and businesses. It will also help the company lessen its carbon footprint.
The $14 million project is spearheaded by Smithfield Renewables, Smithfield’s platform that aims to unify and accelerate its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 25% by 2025, the release says. Roughly 140,000 dekatherms of RNG per year will be transported through the partnership with Duke Energy from Smithfield to natural gas plants to be used to generate electricity for consumers.
"This project brings to life all three of our company’s guiding principles – Responsibility, Operational Excellence, and Innovation,” says Kenneth M. Sullivan, president and chief executive officer for Smithfield Foods, in the release. “For the first time, we are creating renewable energy from the biogas generated in our wastewater treatment system and using it to power local communities. With the help of our partners, we are producing additional value for our company and our neighbors—a concept that is ingrained in our culture.”
The company says this is one of its largest renewable energy projects that involves wastewater, and the first in North Carolina. It has similar wastewater-to-energy projects in its Missouri, Kentucky and South Dakota facilities, which are used to power modified steam boilers.
In North Carolina, the project utilizes a gas upgrading and injection system operated by OptimaBio, which leverages the 3 million gallon-per-day wastewater treatment system to collect and clean biogas though an existing on-site digester to convert it into RNG, the release says.
After it is converted the RNG is injected into the Piedmont Natural Gas system and transported to Duke Energy to produce electricity. This project will also help Duke Energy satisfy state swine waste-to-energy mandates in North Carolina, the release says.
Smithfield is also planning projects on its farms that transform manure into RNG. These projects capture methane from manure, and clean and convert it into RNG, which is then injected into local natural gas distribution systems for homes and businesses, the company says.
To learn more, visit smithfieldfoods.com/sustainability.
