PepsiCo Installs Biogas Plant at Pune Unit
March 30, 2010
PUNE, INDIA – PepsiCo India has installed a biogas plant at its Frito-Lay manufacturing unit at Pune. The company is now directly using this gas for the production of its snack product Kurkure. The company commissioned the plant in June last year and is now running at full daily capacity.
Rajeev Kumar, VP, Operations, PepsiCo India said, “The plant produces enough biogas for two processing lines. We have stopped using LPG on those two lines, where we produce Kurkure, out of the seven lines. The plant produces 2200 million cubic meters of gas a day, substitute 200 tonnes of LPG annually.”
It also reduces our carbon emissions by 600 tons annually, Mr Kumar said. The Pune plant is the first one across Frito-Lay’s global operations to use biogas, according to The Economic Times. The Pune manufacturing unit produces the entire range of Frito-Lay’s snacking products Lays, Kurkure, Cheetos, Uncle Chips and the recently launched biscuit brand Aliva.
The unit also generates 10-12 tons of bio-degradable waste daily, comprising potato peels, extra burnt chips, green potatoes, etc, which was earlier disposed off as waste and will now be used in the biogas plant. Installed at an investment of Rs 3.5 crore, the plant will save the company its annual expenditure of Rs 1.5 crore on waste disposal.
Src: TheBioenergySite News Desk
