Two Costa Rica slaughterhouses implementing anaerobic digestion

Costa Rica is a country with luxuriant vegetation thanks to its very advantageous tropical location. Its geographical characteristics are precisely what enables it to aspire to succeed in producing one hundred percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2021. Furthermore, in order to achieve this ambitious objective, the country has several progressive policies in terms of sustainable development and environmental preservation. The strategy is working, as many investments are made including one representing three million USD which resulted into two Costa Rica slaughterhouses implementing anaerobic digestion, specifically those of El Arreo and Del Valle near the capital, San José.

The food industry contributes significantly to GHGs emissions, either by carbon dioxide (CO2) released by machinery during harvest, by methane (CH4) emitted from the manure of animal livestock, or by nitrous oxide (N2O) related to the spreading of fertilizers and manure. In Canada for example, it is estimated that a proportion of about ten percent of GHGs emanates from this very large industry, while it amounts to 24 percent at the global level, referring to 2010. However, the Canadian estimate does not account for the use of fossil fuels to harvest as well as GHGs associated with the production of industrial fertilizers, which explains the gap with the global benchmark. In addition, it must be mentioned that massive cutting of trees for agriculture that will feed the livestock emits a lot of CO2 while inducing a reduction in the CO2 assimilation power of the environment, which adds to the relative importance of the emissions caused by this industry.

In this sense, it follows that the biogas plants, whose investment was jointly supported by both Costa Rican slaughterhouses, have many advantages and benefits starting with the reduced energy bill of their buildings. The biogas produced by the digester with a capacity of 8,000 cubic meters, which treats feces, blood and remains of the slaughtered animals, enables the production of 70 to 80 percent of the electricity required for slaughterhouses operations, the remaining proportion being from natural gas. Moreover, this solution is more environmentally friendly because it reduces GHGs emissions while attenuating bad smells caused by the slaughterhouses activities which are located close to a residential area.

Moreover, it is not the only project of its kind in Costa Rica. Indeed, the biogas program supported by the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) has allowed the development of similar infrastructures for the fruit industry, which currently generate 2.2 megawatts of energy nationwide. This figure will also increase to 4 megawatts of energy production after the imminent launch of a biogas plant that will process sewage sludge from waste water, once again with the support of the ICE.

Costa Rica is thus noticeably dynamic and proactive to reach its targets through its policies, especially taking into account the significant environmental impact of the food industry since its magnitude will not decline considering the current global population growth. It would be wise to extend this politic radiance in order to eventually constrain the revaluation of organic residual waste generated by this industry, including through anaerobic digestion among other means. It would this way be possible to maximize the exploitation of the potential associated with food products, which obviously does not comprise only the production of food but also includes energy production. The maximum exploitation of this potential would reduce the overall environmental footprint of this industry, which will not disappear although it is somewhat controversial among public opinion.

By Simon Lefebvre | 2016-03-31

Sources : AFP.com, LaPresse.ca, US-EPA, Agr.GouvCan.ca, Phys.org (image)