World's largest chocolate factory switches to biofuels - palm stearin

Barry Callebaut, the world’s largest manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products, will switch to biofuels to operate its largest chocolate factory in Wieze, in the Northwest of the country. The company has signed a contract with Belgium’s leading private renewable energy company, Electrawinds, for the installation of a 35 megawatt biofuel combined heat and power plant, which will power the production of more than 250,000 tonnes of chocolate a year.

The energy produced is equivalent to that consumed by 90,000 households. By switching to biofuel as an energy source, the production at the world’s largest chocolate factory will become CO2 neutral. This way Barry Callebaut hopes to make a significant contribution to achieving the Kyoto protocol, which seeks to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to fight global warming.

The biofuel plant for the chocolate factory will use stearin, a by-product from palm oil, though care is being taken to ensure only sustainable supplies are utilized.

“Barry Callebaut’s objectives are to conserve resources and minimize the adverse impacts on the environment. Switching to green energy to power the world’s largest chocolate factory is a major step in this direction. The palm oil that will be used to produce energy will come from existing agricultural areas, meaning that the project will not cause additional de-forestation of the rain forest. With Electrawinds we have found a highly experienced partner to implement our switch to green energy” - Patrick De Maeseneire, CEO of Barry Callebaut.

The biofuel installation will combust stearin, one of the dozens of by-products created when refining palm oil. Palm stearin is the more solid fraction obtained by the fractionation of palm oil after crystallization at controlled temperatures. As such it is a coproduct of palm olein (see flow chart, click to enlarge). The product is always traded at a discount to palm oil and palm olein making it an cost effective ingredient in several applications. Palm stearin is a source of fully natural hard fat used in products such as soap, shortening and pastry and bakery margarines.

The physical characteristics of palm stearin differ significantly from those of palm oil and it is available in a wider range of melting points and iodine values. It is not suitable for the production of liquid biofuels, but can be combusted as a solid fuel.

The power generated by the installation will directly be delivered to the Barry Callebaut site, allowing the group to save the transport and distribution costs normally charged by the grid operator. The energy yield of the biofuel plant is up to 70 percent compared to only 35 percent for traditional energy plants because of the recuperation of heat:
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This will also allow the chocolate factory to lower its consumption of light fuel oil. Extra energy could also be supplied to households located in the proximity of the plant. Furthermore, the installation will create some additional jobs in Wieze as staff will be hired by Electrawinds to run the energy plant, which is expected to be operational in the summer 2008.

Barry Callebaut is the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality cocoa, chocolate and confectionery products – from the cocoa bean to the finished product on the store shelf. Barry Callebaut is present in 24 countries, operates more than 30 production facilities and employs approximately 7,500 people. The company serves the entire food industry, from food manufacturers to professional users of chocolate (such as chocolatiers, pastry chefs or bakers), to global retailers. It also provides a comprehensive range of services in the fields of product development, processing, training and marketing.

Electrawinds is the leading private renewable energy company in Belgium with further operations in Italy. Since its formation in 1998, Electrawinds has invested a total of €100m in renewable energy projects. To help deliver these goals, the company has delivered several major projects. These include a biofuel installation in Ostend and a series of facilities near Bruges – including, at the time, the largest wind farm in Belgium. In total, Electrawinds now has 50 MW of installed capacity in wind and biomass energy, and has licenses for projects of 60 MW for next year.

Chart: different fractions of crude palm oil. Courtesy: Malaysian Palm Oil Board.