Kleenheat supplies coffee plant

The supply of energy to a Gympie coffee plant has set a precedent for Kleenheat Gas Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Perth-based national agricultural and industrial group, Wesfarmers Limited.

The Nestlé plant located at Gympie, 180 kilometres north of Brisbane in Queensland, processes some 13,000 tonnes of coffee beans annually.

Nestlé contracted Kleenheat to deliver its energy requirements and this was done through the first simulated natural gas (SNG) base-load industrial gas plant ever commissioned in Australia.

As a result of Kleenheat’s input, the plant now utilises a butane and air mixture to provide SNG which matches the burning requirements of natural gas equipment and provides Nestlé with a competitively-priced energy supply.

A Kleenheat spokesman said it also gives Nestlé the advantage of being able to maintain flexibility in sourcing its energy requirements when natural gas becomes available.

The key to the SNG solution for Nestlé – to achieve competitive pricing with LPG already being supplied to the plant, and likely future natural gas tariffs – is to achieve an effective SNG blend using butane as feedstock, which offers a more competitive structure than the usual propane-based SNG.

Kleenheat found the butane option working effectively in a standby facility at a Belgian glass factory and developed the appropriate solution for Nestlé.

It also utilised SNG equipment supplied by manufacturer Sam Dick Industries/Algas of the United States.

The conversion was completed during a scheduled two-week maintenance shutdown of the Gympie plant.

The ASX-listed Wesfarmers group last year had a turnover of $2.8 billion. Kleenheat operates throughout Australia, supplying domestic, automotive, and industrial and commercial gas.