UPGRADES. The environmental upgrades being undertaken at the Manapla distillery of sugar producer Victorias Milling Company in Negros Occidental. The company is introducing a P100-million upgrade to its industrial plant. (Photo courtesy of Victorias Milling Company)
BACOLOD CITY – Negros Occidental-based sugar producer Victorias Milling Company (VMC) has temporarily stopped the operations of its Manapla distillery to introduce a PHP100-million environmental improvement to the industrial plant.
VMC president Minnie Chua said the company is complying with their commitment to finish the upgrades after concerns were raised by the communities surrounding the distillery.
“The upgrade plans were stalled when the province went on lockdown due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. We can restart our operation with much improvement in our environmental performance,” Chua said in a statement on Wednesday.
VMC, one of the country’s biggest producers of raw and refined sugar, is located in the northern city of Victorias, and its distillery is situated in Barangay Purisima of neighboring Manapla town.
The firm has allocated more than PHP100 million to address the environmental concerns in the distillery and fulfill its commitment to reduce the overall environmental impact of the plant operations.
The upgrades include the installation of an anaerobic digester to lessen the presence of odor-causing bacteria in the slops by 60 percent to 70 percent and converting it to biogas, and an automatic flaring system to eliminate odor-causing gases.
Other improvements include the application of wastewater treatment methods at the aeration ponds such as filtration, aeration, and dosing of enzymes to counteract the odor-causing chemical reaction in the digesters as well as installation of additional units of aspirating surface aerators in the aeration ponds to help eliminate odor.
All upgrades to improve wastewater volume reduction and treatment processes are expected to be completed in the third quarter of the year, the firm said.
Trees are also being planted in areas surrounding the industrial and natural polishing lagoons and aeration ponds to serve as natural air purifiers.
The VMC Manapla distillery went full blast in its operations in April, even doubling its capacity in alcohol production, to address the scarcity of ethyl alcohol amid the high demand for the disinfectant during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Most of the alcohol supply has been donated by VMC to local government units and various frontline agencies. (PNA)
