Sustainability, our key word

Citrusvil’s Effluent Treatment Plant aims to to install a clean production circuit that contributes to the sustainability of its activities and the production of biogas from the effluents it generates in its industrial processes. The company, in its biogas generation process, avoids the emission into the atmosphere of greenhouse gases and generates an environmental benefit for environmental protection. “In 2018, the company replaced 19.7 of the total gas required by its industries with an upward trend into the future with biogas,” explains Lic. Germán Roig Babot, head of effluent treatment plant.

In this sense, the effluent generated by industrial plants requires responsible treatment in a way that makes all industrial activity sustainable. The company implemented its Zero Effluent Program more than a decade ago. From this program, it ferrates with its treated effluents more than 600 hectares comprising its farms San Juan, Cevil Pozo and El Corte. In this way, Citrusvil prevents the overturning of its liquid waste into watercourses and achieves a sustainable growth of its industry.

Description of the production process

Citrusvil processes 350,000 tons of lemon per campaign processing, as main products, oil lemon essentials, concentrated juice and dried peel. For the approximately 4 m3 of water are used for each tonne of processed fruit, generating about 10,000 m3 of liquid effluent per day.

Citrusvil is the first citrus industry in the world to develop a united-class approved liquid effluent treatment system (CDM). The effluent treatment system allows to recover biogas sufficient to recover approximately 20 of the consumption of plant boilers industrial, destination currently given to fuel. For a benefit additional emission of methane into the atmosphere is avoided, the greenhouse effect of which higher than CO2. The industrial plant has zero liquid effluents on water, once treated, is used for irrigation of plantations lemons, complying with the regulations for this purpose.

Citrusvil adds value through renewable energy

As a result of the implementation of Law 27.191 and the national program called Renew, which promotes the generation of electricity from renewable sources, Citrusvil project to transform the biogas it generates into electric energy. Since the 2017, Citrusvil works on a project that will allow to deliver to the electrical system a power of 3MW.

In this way it is born the citrusvil energy project for the renewable electricity commercialization. “The goal is that the plant power is running by April 2019,” says plant manager Citrusvil Effluent Treatment. The Renew plan, on which it is based the project, guarantees the sale of the energy generated through a contract signed with CAMMESA (Electric Wholesale Market Management Company) for a period of 20 years. “This contract guarantees us the dispatch of the energy generated and a flow of funds low-risk,” explains the Ing. Luciano Uda, head of energy at the business group, and makes it clear that this project opens up a new business unit for the group.

The team mainly consists of two sectors working together: Citrusvil’s effluent treatment sector with the energy sector Lucci Group. “Both find this common ground to take advantage of biogas and the benefits of renewable energy,” says Luciano Uda.

Undoubtedly, with the Citrusvil renewable energy generation will have a big impact and generate value to your effluent treatment plant. From this project, this plant will no longer be a service unit to become a unit Productive. “It’s a very Challenging. Everyone who works at the Effluent Treatment Plant we’re proud of what we do because it’s the only plant of its kind that works at 100. In addition, the environmental and economic contribution that we are doing,” concludes Germán Roig Babot.