EFI USA
EFI USA covered lagoon system at food processing facility

Food Processing Industry

Food Processing Biogas &Wastewater Solutions

EFI USA covers, lines and captures biogas from wastewater lagoons at meat, poultry and food processing plants: gas-tight covers, enclosed flares, headspace oxygen injection for H2S, and HDPE liners. Installed at JBS, Smithfield, Perdue, Tyson, Pilgrim's, Wayne-Sanderson and SunMaid.

100+
Facilities Served
20+
Year System Life
95%+
Biogas Captured
30+
Years Experience

Wastewater treatment at a meat or poultry plant: EFI's part of it

A slaughterhouse or poultry plant runs its wastewater through screens and dissolved air flotation, then an anaerobic lagoon, then usually an aerated polishing step before discharge or land application. EFI USA builds and equips the lagoon in the middle of that train. Since 1993 that has meant the gas-tight cover, the biogas collection and enclosed flare behind it, oxygen or air injection into the headspace to take hydrogen sulfide out of the gas, and the HDPE liner underneath.

The organic load in meat and poultry wastewater is 10 to 100 times municipal strength, which is why an open lagoon at a processing plant smells and why a covered one makes gas worth capturing. Covering it solves the odor at the surface, and headspace O2 injection keeps the H2S from reaching the flare, from thousands of ppm down to under 100.

EFI does not supply the DAF, the screens, the aeration or the sludge handling. Those come from the plant's process engineer and the equipment makers in each category, and EFI works to their loading and flow numbers. The section below draws the line plainly.

What EFI does and does not do at a meat plant

EFI does

  • Gas-tight and floating geomembrane covers on anaerobic and treatment lagoons
  • Biogas collection, condensate management and enclosed flares with monitoring
  • Oxygen or air injection into the cover headspace for H2S control
  • HDPE and LLDPE lagoon liners, relining and electrical leak location
  • Baffle curtains to fix short-circuiting in existing cells
  • Cover replacement without draining the lagoon

EFI does not, and who does

  • Dissolved air flotation, rotary screens, grease recovery. That is DAF and screening equipment manufacturers.
  • Activated sludge, aerated lagoon or nutrient removal design. That is the plant's consulting wastewater engineer.
  • Aeration blowers, diffusers and surface aerators. That is aeration equipment vendors.
  • Sludge dewatering and chemical dosing. That is dewatering and chemical feed suppliers.
  • Discharge permit process engineering. That is the consulting engineer; EFI supplies liner QA/QC documentation to it.

Meat and poultry plants EFI has built at

Each entry links to the project page with scope and results.

JBS USA
Worthington, MN

HDPE cover, enclosed flare, O2 injection and monitoring on the pork plant's wastewater lagoon, operational four months from contract.

View project
Smithfield Foods
Tar Heel, NC

Covered lagoon digester with dual enclosed flares and H2S scrubbing across the primary and secondary lagoons; zero odor complaints since commissioning.

View project
Perdue Farms
Lewiston, NC

Covered lagoon digester, enclosed flare, O2 injection for H2S removal and cloud monitoring at a poultry processing plant.

View project
Tyson Foods
Broken Bow, OK

60 mil HDPE liner and floating cover on the primary treatment lagoon, containment and odor control in one eight-week install.

View project
Pilgrim's
Mt. Pleasant, TX

HDPE liner and floating cover system on the poultry plant's wastewater expansion, with repair phases through 2025.

View project
SunMaid Growers
Kingsburg, CA

Covered lagoon anaerobic digester with biogas collection, H2S scrubbing and monitoring on raisin processing wastewater.

View project

The Challenge

Food Processing Wastewater Creates Significant Emissions

Food and beverage processing facilities generate high-strength organic wastewater that produces substantial biogas when treated in lagoon systems. This includes meat processors, fruit and vegetable packers, beverage manufacturers, and dairy product plants.

Without capture systems, the methane produced in these wastewater lagoons escapes directly to the atmosphere. The organic loading in food processing wastewater can be 10-100x higher than municipal wastewater, creating proportionally larger emission profiles.

  • Food processing wastewater has 10-100x the organic load of municipal waste
  • Open lagoons release methane and cause odor issues
  • Increasing sustainability requirements from retailers and consumers
  • Carbon credit markets create new revenue from existing waste streams

Trusted by Industry Leaders

SunMaid Growers

Covered lagoon digester for wastewater treatment and biogas recovery at one of the world's largest raisin processing facilities.

JBS

Biogas capture systems for wastewater lagoons at multiple meat processing locations across the US.

Wayne-Sanderson Farms

Covered lagoon systems for poultry processing wastewater treatment and emissions management.

Our Solution

Covered Lagoon Systems for Food Processing

EFI designs covered lagoon digester systems specifically engineered for the high-strength organic wastewater produced by food processing operations. Each system is tailored to the facility's unique waste characteristics and treatment requirements.

Wastewater Treatment

The covered lagoon enhances anaerobic treatment efficiency, improving effluent quality while capturing biogas. Reduces downstream treatment costs and chemical usage.

Biogas Capture

Gas-tight geomembrane covers capture 95%+ of biogas produced from organic waste decomposition. Captured gas is destroyed through enclosed flaring or routed for energy recovery.

Odor Control

The hermetically sealed cover eliminates odor emissions from the lagoon surface. Critical for facilities near residential areas or with expansion plans that require community support.

Sustainability Goals

Documented methane destruction and emission reductions support corporate sustainability reporting, ESG commitments, and supply chain requirements from major retailers.

Carbon Credits

Methane destruction generates verified carbon credits that can be monetized. Under EFI's model, credit revenue is shared 50/50 after EFI achieves its target return.

Custom Engineering

Every food processing waste stream is different. EFI's PE-licensed engineers design systems based on BMP testing and waste characterization specific to your facility.

EFI USA covered lagoon system at food processing facility
Case Study

Project Spotlight

SunMaid Growers, Kingsburg CA

EFI designed and installed a covered lagoon digester system for wastewater treatment and biogas recovery at one of the world's largest raisin processing facilities. The system captures biogas from high-strength organic wastewater while improving treatment efficiency and eliminating odor emissions.

Facility Type
Fruit Processing
System Type
CLD + Flare
Biogas Capture
95%+
System Life
20+ Years
View All Projects

FAQ

Food Processing Biogas Questions

It depends on which stage of the plant's wastewater you mean, because no single company does all of it. Screening and dissolved air flotation upstream come from DAF and screening equipment manufacturers. The overall process design, discharge permit and any aerobic or nutrient-removal step come from a consulting wastewater engineer and aeration equipment vendors. The anaerobic lagoon in the middle of that train is EFI USA's part: the gas-tight cover, biogas collection and enclosed flare, headspace oxygen injection to knock hydrogen sulfide out of the gas, and the HDPE liner under it. EFI has built that scope at JBS Worthington, Smithfield Tar Heel, Perdue Lewiston, Tyson Broken Bow and Pilgrim's Mt. Pleasant, and installs its own work with its own crews rather than subcontracting the cover.

EFI covers, lines and captures biogas from the wastewater lagoon. That means gas-tight and floating covers, gas collection and condensate management, enclosed flares with monitoring, oxygen or air injection into the headspace for H2S control, HDPE and LLDPE liners with leak location, and baffle curtains. EFI does not supply DAF units, rotary screens or grease recovery, does not design activated sludge or aerated lagoon treatment, does not size aeration blowers or diffusers, and does not dewater sludge or run chemical dosing. Those come from the plant's process engineer and the equipment manufacturers in each category. Where the two meet, EFI works to the engineer's flow and loading numbers and hands back a covered anaerobic cell that treats the organic load, holds the odor, and produces gas the plant can flare or use.

Yes, and it is the most common reason a processor calls. The rotten-egg odor off a slaughterhouse or rendering lagoon is hydrogen sulfide leaving the surface. A gas-tight cover stops it there, and headspace oxygen injection then converts the H2S in the captured gas to elemental sulfur, from thousands of ppm to under 100, so the flare burns clean and nothing odorous vents. Smithfield's Tar Heel plant has recorded zero odor complaints since its covered lagoon and dual flare system was commissioned. What a cover does not do is raise dissolved oxygen in the liquid; if the permit problem is effluent BOD or ammonia rather than odor, that is an aeration step downstream of the covered cell.

Any food processing facility with a wastewater lagoon producing organic waste is a candidate. EFI has installed systems for meat processing (JBS, Wayne-Sanderson), fruit and vegetable processing (SunMaid Growers), beverage manufacturing, and dairy product processing. The key factor is the organic load in the wastewater, which EFI evaluates through site assessment and BMP testing.

A covered lagoon digester enhances anaerobic treatment of high-strength food processing wastewater. The sealed cover creates optimal conditions for anaerobic decomposition, improves treatment efficiency, eliminates odor emissions, and captures biogas that would otherwise escape to the atmosphere. The result is better effluent quality, regulatory compliance, and environmental performance.

Under EFI's zero-cost model, the food processor pays nothing for installation or maintenance. EFI funds all capital costs ($300K-$1.5M per site) and handles ongoing operations. Carbon credit revenue is shared 50/50 after EFI achieves its target return. Typical project IRRs range from 30-80% with 1-4 year payback periods.

Yes. The majority of EFI's installations are retrofits to existing lagoons. Our engineering team evaluates the lagoon geometry, waste characteristics, and site conditions to design a cover system that integrates with your existing wastewater treatment infrastructure. In most cases, no lagoon modifications are needed.

Explore More

Related Services

Biogas & Digesters

Covered lagoon digester systems for wastewater biogas

Learn More

Wastewater

Municipal and industrial treatment systems

Learn More

Geosynthetic Liners

HDPE and LLDPE lagoon liner systems

Learn More

Ready to Capture Your Wastewater Biogas?

Get a free site assessment and biogas potential analysis for your food processing facility.

Or call us directly: (307) 264-0309

Get a Quote