A CARBON-neutral energy positive waste-water treatment technology has been pioneered at the Lurgan site of the meat processor ABP and is now being rolled out at food and beverage plants across the world.
The technology was developed at the National University of Ireland in Galway and licensed to NVP Energy.
As a leader in sustainability ABP saw the potential of NVP Energy’s ground-breaking low temperature anaerobic digestion technology and they embarked on a trial project at its Lurgan site to prove the energy positive waste-to-methane gas technology could be successfully deployed commercially.
ABP’s sustainability manager John Durkan, who oversaw the commissioning by NVP Energy of the flagship sludge-less waste-water treatment plant, said the plant delivered solid, reliable performance right from the outset.
The ABP treatment plant at Lurgan now processes the entire flow of waste-water produced on the site, turning that waste into bio-gas energy, ideally suited for heat and electricity generation, enough to offset ABP Foods’ gas usage on site by 40 per cent.
He saidL “ABP is always on the look out to support and enable innovative and technology driven projects that will solve problems, so this project ticked all our boxes.
"It's carbon neutral, sustainable, odourless, cutting edge technology, low cost of treatment, no sludge production with clean waste water discharge. On top of that, it delivers high quality methane gas for use on site.”
NVP Energy managing director Michael Murray said “We are delighted to work with a company of the calibre of ABP Food Group, as our technology is aligned with the company-wide ethos of ‘doing more with less.”
“ABP understood what we are about right from the start, and vice-versa. Their hard-won production experience and our technological know-how enabled a successful partnership and project."
Last year ABP Food Group - which employs 10,000 people at 46 manufacturing plants in UK, Ireland, Denmark, Poland, Austria, Holland, France and Spain - became the first company globally to receive triple certification from the Carbon Trust for the third time.
