Case Study
JBS — Worthington, MN
HDPE cover and enclosed flare system for methane destruction at one of JBS's largest pork processing facilities.
The Challenge
Problem
JBS Worthington's open wastewater lagoon was venting approximately 31,000 tCO2e per year of methane equivalent. The facility evaluated RNG conversion but the $10-25M price tag and 5+ year timeline made it impractical. JBS needed a cost-effective methane destruction solution that could be deployed in months, not years, while generating carbon credit revenue.
Our Approach
Solution
EFI installed an HDPE geomembrane cover ($1.16M) and enclosed flare ($150K) with monitoring and O2 injection systems. Total project cost of $2.0M — a fraction of what an RNG system would require. The system was operational within 4 months of contract signing, with carbon credit verification built into the monitoring infrastructure from day one.
Outcomes
Results & Metrics
Key Outcomes
- 31,000-33,000 tCO2e destroyed per year
- 99.5% methane destruction efficiency
- $2.0M total project cost (vs $10-25M for RNG)
- Projected 57.5% IRR
- 1.7-year payback period
- Operational in 4 months from contract signing
“We looked at RNG and the numbers just didn't work. EFI gave us a solution at a tenth of the cost that was operational before our next quarterly report. The carbon credit revenue was a bonus we didn't expect.”
Director of Sustainability, JBS USA
Related Work
Similar Projects
Poultry / Food ProcessingPerdue Farms — Lewiston, NC
Food Processing / AgricultureSunMaid Growers — Kingsburg, CA
Poultry / AgricultureWayne-Sanderson Farms — Southeast US
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