Unilever And Paques Build Bio-Digester At Ben & Jerry's Factory In The Netherlands

Unilever and Paques began building a bio-digester at the former's Ben & Jerry ice cream factory in Hellendoorn, the Netherlands. Paques' BIOPAQ AFR bio-digester purifies wastewater and converts waste products, such as from milk and syrup production, into biogas in one step.  Unilever made the investment as part of its Sustainable Living Plan and it is one of the first companies to use this bio-digester that applies an innovative approach of treating wastewater streams that contain fat and oil together with degradable particles all in one reactor. The process relies on over 24 billiard (24*10^15) micro-organisms to digest the waste and the plant will begin operating mid-2011 and supply up to 40 percent of the factory's green energy requirements.