La Joya in Puebla and El Capricho in Leon, Mexico, used lined and covered lagoons as part of livestock manure treatment. Olmeca III in Tecún Umán, Guatemala, treated palm oil mill effluent. The original case histories describe different feedstocks and project arrangements. A useful installation reference keeps those differences visible.
La Joya: liners and covers for two biodigesters
The La Joya case history describes a 15,000-pig swine operation and two biodigesters. Environmental Fabrics de Mexico supplied the geosynthetic products and performed the liner and cover work. The record names Strickland Engineering and specifies 1.5 mm, or 60 mil, HDPE.
The source lists a project size of 6,400 square meters without allocating separate quantities to liner and cover. It reports that the geosynthetic work took a little over a month. Those details describe the documented installation. They do not establish a construction year, a current herd size, or today’s generating output.
El Capricho: geosynthetics within a broader manure-handling project
At El Capricho, the case history describes collecting manure for a mixing basin and anaerobic digester. Environmental Fabrics de Mexico supplied and installed the lagoon lining and floating cover. The English source specifies 1.5 mm HDPE and a project size of 1,600 square meters, again without a liner-versus-cover quantity split.
The account describes biogas feeding two engines. That historical description supports identifying electricity generation as the intended gas use. It does not establish uninterrupted operation, current power output, or elimination of animal-health problems. Those outcomes would need their own operating records.
Olmeca: palm oil mill effluent in Guatemala
EFI’s Olmeca case sheet identifies two digesters at a Grupo Hame palm oil mill. Environmental Fabrics, Inc. fabricated and installed the covers and biogas system using 60 and 80 mil HDPE. The sheet names CIAM and Bunge Emissions Group in its engineering entry.
The June 2009 account reports approximately 2 MW of continuous electrical output and 24,000 cubic meters of biogas per day. These are historical project figures. The carbon-project documentation is a separate record: UNFCCC CDM project 2667. Registration and issuance should be checked there rather than inferred from the presence of a cover, generator, or flare.
What to compare when reviewing a contractor’s experience
For each reference, ask which company performed the work and where its scope began and ended. Supplying a membrane, fabricating a cover, installing a gas system, designing the process, and operating the plant are different responsibilities. A case history should identify the relevant scope before making a performance comparison.
Check the material description and quantity basis together. A total project area cannot automatically be treated as installed cover area. A reported output should carry a date and identify whether it is a design value, a historical case-sheet figure, or a measured result over a stated period.
For an upcoming lagoon project, share the location, wastewater characteristics, lagoon dimensions, existing equipment and intended gas use. Those inputs let EFI discuss applicable installation experience and define the geosynthetic and gas-system scope for the site.
Historical sources
This comparison uses the original Environmental Fabrics de Mexico case histories for La Joya and El Capricho, and EFI’s Grupo Olmeca case sheet retained in the 2014 collection. Scope and references were reviewed September 23, 2026. The linked project histories distinguish documented installation details from current operating conditions.
