Codelco Involved in New Prickly Pear Biogas and Power Generation Plants in Chile

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In June 2008, Schwager Energy S.A. (Vina del Mar, Chile) signed a 10-year renewable contract with Codelco, Chile's state-owned copper company, to produce biogas for mining operations. The gas will be produced from the skin of prickly pear cactus plants. The $70 million project will involve the construction of a biogas production plant located near Codelco's Las Ventanas Copper Smelter and Refinery in Puchuncavi in the Valparaiso province of Chile. The facility will have an annual production capacity of 21.2 million normal cubic meters. Construction of the plant is scheduled to last about 18 months. The basic engineering stage of the project has been completed, and the engineering, procurement and construction contract will be awarded through private bidding. Codelco is scheduled to start receiving biogas by the end of 2009. The biogas supply is expected to cover up to 5% of Codelco's needs in 2009, 10% in 2010 and 15% in 2011.

The project will consist of two phases. The first is the agricultural phase, which will generate the necessary biomass from the prickly pear cactus, which will then be supplied to the industrial unit. The total cultivation of prickly pear cactus will be about 2,000 hectares in Valparasio province. An inital planting of about 400 hectares will occur in September of this year. In the second phase, 70% prickly pear plants and 30% agricultural residue will be used to generate the biogas in the anaerobic biodigestors. The exact technology used and the specifications of the biodigestors have yet to be determined, but the undertaking will be certified by Lahmeyer International GmbH (Bad Vilbel, Germany). This new project is highly innovative because prickly pear plants have not been used for biogas production at an industrial level anywhere in the world.

The use of biogas as a source of energy represents a cleaner development mechanism, following the Kyoto Protocol's principles, which will help lower the emission of greenhouse gases. The prickly pear was chosen because of its excellent properties as a biogas producer; the plant ferments rapidly and produces high quantities of methane gas.

Codelco is planning a larger power plant near its Las Ventanas mining projects. Bidding for the construction and operation of the 1050-megawatt Cantral Termoelectrica Energia Minera plant will begin in the first half of 2009. The plant will be owned by an as of yet selected independent power producer. Construction should take about 42 months and will require a $1.7 billion investment. The power plant will supply Codelcos's Ventanas mining operations, as well as Chile's national power grid and will have a 30-year operational life.

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