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PurposeEnergy has commissioned a new industrial anaerobic digestion and wastewater pre-treatment facility in Minster, Ohio, designed to convert food manufacturing waste into renewable biogas, treated water and nutrient-rich soil amendments.
The more than $40 million facility, located in the Route 66 Industrial Park, processes wastewater and high-strength organic food waste residuals piped directly from Danone USA’s largest US yogurt manufacturing facility in Minster, as well as from other regional food and beverage producers.
Designed to process up to 250,000 gallons of material per day, the PurposeEnergy-Minster facility is expected to produce around 50,000 MMBtu of renewable biogas annually when operating at full capacity.
The biogas is piped to a dedicated boiler at Danone’s Minster plant, where it is used in place of conventional natural gas. PurposeEnergy estimates this will displace approximately 3,200 US tons of CO2e per year, based on standard US Environmental Protection Agency and Energy Information Administration combustion emission factors.
The project also aims to reduce the environmental impact associated with transporting food manufacturing residuals. PurposeEnergy estimates that piping material directly from Danone’s Minster facility to the anaerobic digestion plant will avoid a further 720 US tons of CO2e annually compared with the previous off-site handling route.
Alongside renewable energy production, the facility provides wastewater pre-treatment for the surrounding food and beverage manufacturing sector.
Water leaving the PurposeEnergy facility is treated to levels above the Village of Minster’s discharge standards, with surplus nutrients and dissolved solids removed before the water enters the municipal wastewater treatment system.
The project is therefore intended to reduce the burden on local wastewater infrastructure while providing manufacturers with an alternative route for managing high-strength organic waste.
Eric Fitch, founder and CEO of PurposeEnergy, said: "This project is an excellent example of PurposeEnergy’s role in creating circularity benefits for food and beverage manufacturing."
He continued: “Food manufacturers shouldn’t have to choose between growing production and meeting their environmental commitments. With this facility anchored near Danone’s Minster plant, we can give our partner a solution that supports both their goals.”
For Danone, the facility forms part of its wider sustainability and energy strategy. The company said the project supports its Danone Impact Journey and Re-Fuel energy excellence programme by converting organic material from its Minster manufacturing operations into renewable biogas.
The resulting biogas can then be returned to the manufacturing site through dedicated infrastructure and used to generate heat for production.
Heiko Gerling, chief operating officer of Danone Americas, said: "The PurposeEnergy facility is an example of our Danone Impact Journey in action and part of our wider Re-Fuel energy excellence programme, helping turn organic material from our Minster plant into renewable biogas that can be piped back to the plant and used through a new biogas boiler. What makes this project especially meaningful is how it brings together industry, local infrastructure and community stakeholders around a shared goal.”
The PurposeEnergy-Minster facility is now operational and ramping up, with a grand opening celebration planned for spring 2027.
