Biogas and Electricity Production from Fruit Waste

Biogas and Electricity Production from Fruit Waste Daily approximately 100 tonnes of fruit waste from juice production facilities operated by a private company in Dinar district, Afyonkarahisar, is converted into electricity through biogas, while remaining waste is transformed into fertiliser. Within the scope of the "Sustainable Biomass Utilisation Project to Support Turkey's Economic Development on the Green Growth Path," conducted in cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (TAGEM) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), a juice producer company in Dinar district, Afyonkarahisar, implemented the "Biogas and Electricity Production from Fruit Waste" project on a 20,000 square-metre area near its 80,000 square-metre facility in 2019. The company obtains biogas by fermenting approximately 100 tonnes of fruit waste generated daily in production, converts this biogas into electrical energy at its biogas energy facility, and supplies it to the city grid. Remaining waste is converted into fertiliser and used in the company's fruit orchards, while steam generated during electricity production is transported through pipes and used in the juice production facility. Additionally, of the approximately 3.4 megawatts of electricity needed per hour for production at the juice facility, 2.3 megawatts is supplied by solar panels installed on the facility's roof. Seeds separated from fruits during production are taken by facilities using solid fuel.  

"We are utilising approximately 100 tonnes of solid fruit waste"

Orhan Kanur, General Manager of Göknur Gıda AŞ Afyonkarahisar campus, provided information to an AA correspondent about the factory's environment-focused operations, stating that they began work in 2018 on how to utilise waste remaining from processed fruits. Kanur continued as follows: "With the understanding that biomethanisation production facilities were the best way to utilise fruit waste, we began establishing our biogas production facilities. At this facility, which we began actively using in 2019 and which has an hourly capacity of 1.16 megawatts, we utilise approximately 100 tonnes of fruit waste daily."

Stating that they supply fruit production to consumers without waste, Kanur continued:

"Within the scope of sustainability, fruit waste generated is converted into electrical energy and steam production at our biogas facilities. We also use this steam in our fruit concentrate facilities." Kanur explained that the fruit waste biogas and electricity production project was recognised with the 'Energy Globe Awards' last year, saying, "We believe renewable energy is one of the important points of sustainability. Fossil fuels have a significant impact on our world in terms of carbon footprint. With a zero-waste philosophy, we aim to meet our energy needs from renewable energy sources."   Source