Louis Dreyfus Company Innovates With the World’s Largest Plant to Produce Biogas From Citrus Effluent
This pioneering project will generate green energy to supply its industrial plant in Bebedouro, Brazil
São Paulo, March 11, 2025 – Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) held today the groundbreaking ceremony for its new biogas production plant in Bebedouro, São Paulo State, Brazil, in line with the company’s commitment to embracing integration, innovation and sustainability in its activities. The plant will be the first of its kind and scale in Brazil – and the largest in the world – capable of producing green energy from the treatment of citrus effluent.
The company has developed innovative biotechnology in national citrus farming. This consists in using an inoculum capable of decomposing the organic load of citrus effluent and generating biogas, replacing the use of fossil fuels and reducing CO2 emissions from Bebedouro industrial plant by more than 20%. In addition, 100% of the treated water will be returned to water resources after treatment. The new plant will occupy a built-up area of approximately 195,000 m² and will also have the capacity to treat approximately 400m³/h of citrus effluent and produce more than 50,000 Nm³/day of biogas. Construction is expected to be complete by mid-2026.
“This project contributes to LDC’s global commitment to reducing CO2 emissions through supply chain decarbonization, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the country’s citrus sector and the regions where the company operates, such as Bebedouro, where we have been operating for over 30 years. Every aspect of the new plant was designed to maximize positive environmental impacts by increasing the efficient use of natural resources,” says Paulo Hladchuk, Global Head of LDC’s Juice Platform.
To achieve this result, the company involved some of Latin America’s best specialists and developed a pilot project. “We tested different inoculums and studied their behavior, observing the amount of biogas generated. When designing the plant, we adopted as viability criteria the reduction of effluent organic load in line with the standard market percentage. Our tests exceeded the project target by up to 15%,” explains Juliana Pires, LDC’s Global Head of Industry & Quality for Juice.
LDC’s Juice Platform
LDC is one of the world’s top three merchants and processors of citrus juices, and the largest exporter of Tahitian lime and Sicilian lemon juices in Brazil. Its operations span the entire value chain, from more than 30,000 hectares of citrus groves to three citrus juice processing facilities, a state-of-the-art juice terminal in the Port of Santos and a terminal in Ghent, Belgium, all compliant with internationally recognized socio-environmental standards.
The company’s product portfolio goes beyond orange (concentrated – FCOJ, and not-from-concentrate – NFC), Tahitian lime and Sicilian lemon juices. It also offers a range of From The Named Fruit (FTNF) natural ingredients: cold-pressed citrus oils and essences, as well as concentrated oils, fractions and terpenes. The portfolio also includes dried peel (for pectin extraction) and citrus pulp pellets (for animal feed). These products serve the beverage, food, chemical, pharmaceutical and animal nutrition industries.
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About Louis Dreyfus Company
Louis Dreyfus Company is a leading merchant and processor of agricultural goods, founded in 1851. We leverage our global reach and extensive asset network to serve our customers and consumers around the world, delivering the right products to the right location, at the right time – safely, reliably and responsibly. Our activities span the entire value chain, from farm to fork, across a broad range of business lines (platforms): Coffee, Cotton, Food & Feed Solutions, Freight, Global Markets, Grains & Oilseeds, Juice, Rice and Sugar. We help feed and clothe some 500 million people every year by originating, processing and transporting approximately 80 million tons of products. Louis Dreyfus Company is active in over 100 countries across six geographical regions, and employs approximately 18,000 people globally.
For more information, visit www.ldc.com and follow us on social media.
Media Contact
For further information, please contact:
FSB Comunicação
Luiz Pedrosa | T. 11 99678-5874
Rafaela Dias | T. 19 98199-0352
