A Cordoba company makes history: it has invested in biogas and bioethanol and is now adding biodiesel

Las Chilcas is a family-run farm and over the years it has diversified and incorporated added value. It was founded in 1980 by Mario Aguilar Benítez, currently retired, and his 5 children are at the head of the company.

The main business unit of the plant, located between the cities of Rayo Cortado and Villa de María de Río Seco, in the north of the province of Córdoba, is agriculture, with corn and soy as standard. The first crop is used as raw material for the bioethanol plant located in the field. Soybeans are planted as a matter of rotation and marketed, but so far it has not been industrialized.

As regards the livestock sector, the activities of Las Chilcas include andl fattening of cattle and pigs. Since the late 1990s it has had an integrated feed with a capacity of 20,000 heads (481 participants in quotient). It also has a pig farm that was expanded in 2021, which allowed it to go from 500 to 1,000 mothers.

At the same time, the factory in the north of Cordoba has a own plant for the production of feed for livestock.

In addition, they installed a biodigester that processes pig and cattle waste – even if it wins – to generate the energy that drives the ethanol plant.

And now, will build a biodiesel production plant with the aim of supplying its own fleet of biofuels. It stems from the initiative of the Córdoba government to promote the construction of 20 new biodiesel plants in the province that will produce this biofuel.

The agreement with the Province signed by the companies is based on the conditions set out in the 100% Biodiesel Self-Consumption Program (BioCBA), whose purpose is to diversify the energy matrix.

Andrés Aguilar Benitez, one of the directors, said Rural trumpet The total amount of the investment is not yet defined. “Biodiesel is for our fleet. We have a lot of internal consumption due to the logistics that we have to transport supplies from every area,” she said.

The president of Las Chilcas, Andrés Aguilar Benítez, celebrated the decision of the provincial government to bet on biodiesel. “We strongly support and believe in the benefits of sustainable production, renewable energy generation and the promotion of the circular economy,” he underlined.

“With the financial help proposed by the government we will be able to face the trial,” admitted Aguilar Benítez, head of a company in which two brothers and sisters are also involved.

Production of bioethanol

The Las Chilcas plant works fully integrated with the processes in the field. This allows the corn to be industrialized at the harvesting site.

Since 2016 it has had a distillery that transforms corn production into alcohol. This bioethanol plant generates energy and food at the same time, with a circular economy system. By-products such as burlanda are used to feed livestock.

Aguilar Benítez said in this regard: “We have seen the advantages of working with a circular economy system through the corn supply chain with bioethanol; a synergy is created between the different business units, where a waste becomes a by-product of another unit and input of another “. And he continued: “A self-powered circularity is generated, which brings benefits in production and contributions to the community”.

He then indicated that business investment will allow for the creation of new direct and indirect jobs. “We will increase the number of employees between 10 and 20 percent, as needed; today we have 125 workers in the company, all from the area, when the neighboring fields have only one ”, she anticipated.

The president of Las Chilcas understands that the work system used “promotes energy production, animal production and by-products, as well as generating quality work in the area, avoiding the exodus of people from the city to the city and preventing the arrival of big trucks out on the road ».

Natural gas, great savings

In mid-2021 the company was connected to natural gas by the main gas pipeline that the Province has built in the northern region. This has resulted in significant savings in its manufacturing processes.

Both the policy of bringing natural gas closer to industries and the orientation towards biofuels are viewed favorably by the production establishment.

Since 2017, the plant has had a biodigester for processing bovine and pig waste, as well as household organic waste. “With this system, biogas is produced, which is used as energy for the operation of the bioethanol distillery; this reduces the environmental impact and the carbon footprint, as well as contributing to the community in generating environmental awareness, ”he stressed.

In addition, the waste from the biodigester is converted into a biofertilizer that can be used in the fields or as another by-product for sale.

With information from the government of Córdoba