PILMICO PUTS ASH WASTES TO GOOD USE
Aboitiz Group’s integrated agribusiness and food unit, Pilmico Foods Corp.(pilmico), has found yet another way to make use of the by-products of rice husks that it is using as an alternative to bunker fuel in its feeds manufacturing plant.
The company refers to the use of ash wastes from burned rice husks as an alternative mix for cement for Pilmico facilities’ construction needs.
In 2018, Pilmico started using a biomass boiler that used rice husks as an alternative to bunker fuel for its feeds production process. The boiler generates steam to cook and sanitize the feeds. The process involves the burning of rice husks that the company gets from partner rice mills.
The biomass boiler is part of Pilmico’s efforts to reduce production cost and carbon footprint as it enabled it to cut by 60 percent its bunker fuel use.
In constant search for sustainable alternatives, civil engineers of Pilmico Animal Nutrition Corp. (PANC) discovered other potential uses of the rice husks’ by-product, that is the use of ash wastes from burned rice husks as a mix for cement which the company uses for its construction needs.
Used in Pilmico’s slaughterhouse and meat cutting facility in Tarlac, the waste ash mixture supplemented the concrete mix for road perimeters including curb and gutter that controls water flow by coursing it to specific drainage, and perimeter fence. This helps the company cut its cement use by 20 percent.
The waste ash and cement mixture is also used for the concrete slabbs in Pilmico’s swine farm.
According to PANC’S Central Maintenance Department (CMD), the precast concrete slabs used for the road perimeters are highly efficient and beneficial because the construction team was able to produce their preferred specifications, allowing them to build with better quality and efficiently-produced materials.