Smithfield Foods Inc. announced Friday that it will invest $20 million to build a facility that converts swine waste into biodiesel fuel near its Circle Four Farms swine production operation in Milford, Beaver County.
Smithfield will be the major partner in BEST BioFuel LLC, the partnership that will build the project.
"Livestock waste can be a source of clean, renewable vehicle fuel," said Robert F. Urell, Smithfield senior vice president, engineering and environmental affairs.
Construction is scheduled to start in April, pending final approval of a conditional use permit and a permit from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. The facility could start producing fuels as early as October.
The project will involve the construction of a collection system to pump waste to a central processing facility, where it will be concentrated. The concentrated liquid is then introduced into a second facility that produces biogas, which is piped to an enclosed plant. There, a thermo-catalytic process converts it to biomethanol.
The biomethanol will be transported to a plant outside of Utah for processing into biodiesel utilizing oils, such as soybean oil, animal fat or used cooking oil.
"The result is a clean burning, renewable fuel that also has been shown to extend the life of diesel engines due to improved lubricating action," a company press release said.