Veolia Aids FELDA in New Business Venture

Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies (Veolia) is pleased to announce that its proprietary Pomethane® technology has contributed to FELDA Palm Industries Sdn Bhd's (FELDA) efforts to supply a national grid with renewable energy.

Released in late 2012, Pomethane®, developed by Veolia's subsidiary Biothane, is a unique anaerobic thermophilic digestion technology specifically developed to treat acidic effluents with high chemical on demand (COD) content, that are commonly found in the palm oil mill industry. This breakthrough innovation effectively replaces the traditional open lagoon system and is helping leading palm oil producers reduce manufacturing impacts, save money and energy.

At FELDA's Serting Hilir facility, Pomethane® treats 770m³/day of POME, and generates 1.2MW of power every hour. Electricity generated is used to power the mills' production, and is also transmitted to a grid owned by local energy provider, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).

Anuar YAAKUB, Business Development Vice President, South East Asia Industrial, commented, "Veolia is delighted that we are able to contribute to the success of our customer. FELDA has not just gained positive returns on its financial investment, but has also been able to reduce its impact on the environment, which is one of the key ambitions of Veolia's business. We look forward to sharing the benefits of Pomethane®with even more palm oil mills in the near future."