Richard Lilleystone, Chief Executive Officer of UK based Gazasia, took part recently in a tree planting ceremony at the site of the first Aseagas bio-methane digestion plant in the Philippines. He was accompanied by Sabin Aboitiz and Juan Alfonso, President and Chief Operating Officer of Aseagas Corporation, Gazasia’s joint venture with Philippine corporation, Aboitiz Equity Ventures.
The plant in Lian Batangas is the first of several plants planned for the Philippines by Aseagas and will produce biogas from organic waste. The biogas will then be processed to generate liquid bio-methane to be utilised as a clean, renewable, carbon neutral, road transport fuel.
The initial US$47 million plant is situated next to Absolut Distillers Inc., a subsidiary of the Lucia Tan Group. Aseagas will take effluent from the distillery and process it through an anaerobic digestion facility. The resulting liquid will then be further processed to remove the remaining pollutants. AEV estimates that the facility will have an annual capacity of 9,000 metric tons of bio-methane, fuelling up to 200 buses or heavy trucks per year. Aseagas plans to sell the Liquid Natural Gas fuel to fleet owners who want to build up capacity in gas-run vehicles at a cheaper price than diesel.
Press Release, April 7, 2014; Image: Gazasia