German government backs tannery energy project
19/03/2012
Südleder, based in Rehau in Bavaria, has received EUR 1.4 million in funding from the federal German ministry for the environment for the project, part of a wider programme of environmental innovation that the ministry is supporting.
Under the plan, residues from the tannery’s wastewater treatment plant as well as fleshings from the factory floor are fed into a bioreactor. Südleder has calculated that the bioreactor will produce enough biogas to produce 7.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and 7.5 million kilowatt-hours of heat per year.
It has also estimated that the process will cut its carbon emissions by 5,500 tonnes per year.
At the Rehau tannery, Südleder has the capacity to process 3,500 raw hides per day. It makes finished leather for automotive and furniture upholstery, and also for footwear uppers and leathergoods. It employs 250 people.
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