No bull: biogas recovery to reduce carbon bill

JBS Australia, the country’s largest producer of meat products, has engaged Wiley to project manage the $8.7 million upgrade of its wastewater treatment system.

The upgrade will involve the design, construction and installation of new pre-treatment equipment and covered anaerobic lagoon technology. According to Wiley, the technology will start reducing JBS’s carbon tax bill as soon as the lagoons are covered.

A new 20 megalitre anaerobic pond will be built, and a biomethane gas recovery system will be attached to the new and existing ponds. The biomethane gas will be used to fuel the existing gas-fired boiler. A red waste stream dissolved air flotation system replacement will be implemented, as will a system for tallow recovery. In addition, the existing trade-waste system will be modified.

Wiley and JBS’s 2010 collaboration on a revolutionary saltwater hide processing plant was awarded the Master Builders Association Brisbane Award for Innovation in Environmental Management.

“We are proud to work with JBS, supporting their ongoing commitment to environmental innovation,” said Wiley’s Managing Director, Tom Wiley. “Every project like this is a step towards a better future.”

Currently in the construction phase, the project is expected to be completed in March 2014.