Beneo is installing a modern heat pump at its plant in Wijgmaal, Belgium. The system utilises waste water energy and thus enables CO2 emissions to be reduced. Rice ingredients for the food and animal feed industry can thus be produced more sustainably at the plant in future. The heat pump utilises the heat stored in the wastewater to generate energy, thereby reducing CO2 emissions during production.
Beneo produces rice starch, rice protein and rice flour for the food and animal feed industry at its plant in Wijgmaal. In addition to wet extraction, a drying process is also used, which requires very high temperatures. The energy required for this currently comes from natural gas. In future, the new heat pump will be able to recover the previously unused waste water heat and, thanks to state-of-the-art technology, increase it to such an extent that the drying process of the rice ingredients is supported. In this way, the system will help to significantly reduce natural gas consumption and therefore CO2 emissions.
Roland Vanhoegaerden, Operations Managing Director, Speciality Rice Ingredients at Beneo explains: “The heat pump is a milestone for us in the area of sustainability. It helps us to reduce CO2 emissions and thus minimise our overall impact on the environment. We have already installed heat exchangers and additional pipework at our plant in Wijgmaal in recent months. The heat pump is expected to go into operation in June 2024.”
The heat pump is the latest example of more sustainable energy management. At the Wijgmaal site, the company only uses green electricity and has already made energy consumption at the plant as efficient as possible by installing frequency converters. Beneo has also been able to significantly reduce transport-related carbon emissions by shifting half of its European inland freight transport from road to river.
