Since 1962, CLAI, the Imola Agricultural Workers Cooperative, has been a leading producer of fresh and cured meat. The company runs its operations in two main plants: the one in Sasso Morelli of Imola (BO) produces cold meats; while the one in Faenza (RA) is where cattle and pigs are slaughtered and cut. Both follow the most advanced operating procedures to ensure animal welfare and high quality standards. In its Imola plant, CLAI decided to implement an energy production system that is based on anaerobic digestion of process-waste. Anaerobic fermentation increases the organic component contained in the by-products of slaughter and livestock (pork fat, pig stomach contents and pig intestines) and thus offers an opportunity to reduce the amount of waste produced every year.

Cefla Engineering designed and built the plant cogeneration system which produces electric power and recovers hot water. The system produces 888kW of electric power and operates with a Jenbacher JGS 412 engine with an electrical efficiency of approximately 42%. The electricity produced is fed into the mains power grid, while the thermal energy, recovered from both the engine cooling circuits and combustion exhaust gases is used entirely within the plant for its heating and for the pasteurization processes. The beneficial combination of the cogeneration and anaerobic digestion processes allows the use of waste for obtaining the energy required for plant operation without the need for any fossil sources. This kind of systems can be easily adapted for such establishments as slaughterhouses, meat processing and agricultural food processing plants.