From residuals to biogas to green electricity
At the heart of our business is a process called anaerobic fermentation. At our facility in Son, the Netherlands, we subject a mixture of organic residuals from farms, restaurants and food processors to fermentation. These raw materials include manure, drain fats, sludge, skimmings from water purification plants and kitchen waste. The fermentation process produces biogas – a sustainable energy resource, as it is produced from natural raw materials that would otherwise have to be landfilled or destroyed. We then feed the biogas into our own Combined Heat and Power (CHP) units to generate green electricity.
Powering our own plant – and 1,700 Dutch households
Our own fermentation plant operates entirely on self-produced green gas and power – a perfect illustration of how at Darling Ingredients we like to close the loops in everything we do. On top of that, the redundant electricity and gas are fed back to the grid. The volume of certified green energy we thus supply is equivalent to the energy needed by around 1,700 Dutch households – another example of sustainability in action.
What about the materials leftover after biogas production? Find out here