“Zero waste”
is the principle that KI Sugar Group determines to manage all of the activities
to not create any waste and negative impact towards the surrounding community and environment
or at least to minimize the effect to be the least as possible.
Care for The
Environment
The by-products that resulted from the production process of turning sugar cane into sugar include bagasses, filter cake, and molasses. These three things are extremely valuable and beneficial. Bagasses are used as fuel to produce steam and electricity. Filter cake is used as soil fertilizer. Molasses is a raw material that is used to produce ethanol, which is a renewable energy according to the government’s policy to support alternative energy sources for sustainability.
Spent wash liquor is a by-product that is derived from the ethanol production process. Originally it was used directly as a soil fertilizer. However, it was realized that using spent wash liquor that still has a high concentration level of impurities can contaminate the soil in the long run if there is a continuous usage. Study has shown that spent wash liquor has the properties to use in the production of a new alternative energy that is more sustainable. The company then instead used the spent wash liquor to go through the treatment process and produce biogas, which is then used to produce electricity. The treated spent wash liquor is turned into liquid and solid soil fertilizers for agricultural purposes.
These processes have shown the company’s determination to plan and manage every waste that is resulted from the production process to be handled systematically in order to prevent negative impact towards the surrounding environment and the local community.
Technology for the
Environment
Air
Exhaust steams from the boilers might be one of the concerns of the local community regarding air pollution. The company has selected highly-advanced technology of air pollution control systems from overseas such as electrostatic precipitator (ESP) at Surin Electric Co., Ltd. and wet scrubber at Korach Industry Co., Ltd. to control and filter the amount of dust and particles released from the factory to be lower than the regulated levels enforced by the law.
Water
Wastewater resulting from the sugar production process is 100% treated and reused without releasing it out to the environment or termed as zero liquid discharged. Spent wash liquor from the ethanol production process is used to produce biogas through Complete Stirred Tank Reactor and Modify Cover Lagoon technologies. Furthermore, the wastewater from the biogas production process is being minimized by using evaporation technology before turning it into both liquid and solid soil fertilizers.
“KI Biogas is Thailand’s first project of
Waste handling and disposal with the
UNFCCC”
Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (Public Organization) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment passed a resolution on January 16, 2010 for KI Biogas Co., Ltd., one of KI Sugar Group’s business entities, to become a project following the protocol for developing clean energy under the name of “KI Biogas Co., Ltd. Wastewater Treatment for Energy Generation, Nakhon Ratchasima”, which supports the sustainability development in Thailand. We have an opportunity to participate in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Kyoto Protocol, and Clean Development Mechanism Project. The project was successfully registered with the UNFCC on February 25, 2013 as a Waste handling and disposal project (Project reference number 6565). It is considered to be Thailand’s first project that was registered with the UNFCC concerning the process from producing sugar to ethanol, biogas, and electricity.
