Thailand: Biogas from waste water

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Prof. Dr. Klaus Töpfer, Patron of atmosfair

"save the climate by going atmosfair"

Thailand: Biogas from sewage water

     
Total savings:
   approx. 20.000t CO2/year for 10 years
Technology transfer:
   New technology for Thailand, developed in a Thai-Dutch cooperation
Local environment:
   Improved quality of water and air
Local employment:
   approx. 10
Project partners:
   Chumporn Palm Oil Industry (Operator), GTZ - Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (Project development), WWF Thailand will keep an eye on the rain forest
     
     

The Thai factory “Chumporn Palm Oil Industry” (CPI). produces palm oil. The company already exists for 25 years. Nearly 800 local employees produce oil from the palm oil fruits for the Thai as well as for the international market. Due to its location within a traditionally cultivated landscape the palm oil plantations do not threaten to grow into any areas of the rain forests. Palm oil is used for cooking or as raw material for candles, cosmetics and candies.

Squeezing out the fruits results in sewage that contains pulp and fruit residues. Formerly, this sewage has been stored in a lagoon where the pulp mud decays anaerobic in the water. Subsequently, this water is used for irrigating the surrounding fields. During the decaying process the strong greenhouse gas methane is released. Furthermore, the process develops an offensive smell, which affects the surrounding population. Now CPI builds a new sewage treatment plant.

It will be one of the first kind in Thailand. Different sorts of sand bed and biogas filters are installed in the system for cleaning the water and using the methane for the process heat in the palm oil production. This improves the climate, benefits the neighbours and the workers as no more methane is released. The new technology was developed from a Thai-Dutch team in a joind project.

The verifier (TÜV) validated the plan of the project with only few changes in 2005. The project is in operation and was registered, after delays due to the political situation in Thailand, in February 2009 as a CDM project and is current in the Gold Standard validation.

Important to atmosfair is the evidence that current and possibly future plantations of oil palms will not affect the existing rain forest. This is due to the fact that the rain forest zone begins in the mountains which are not attractive for agricultural land use.

atmosfair will use only a part of the emission savings generated in Chumporn. Further savings of emissions that are resulting from the project will be used by our Partner GTZ for their own business flights.