Due to the increasingly stringent environmental regulations and the impact of heavy oil combustion on the environment and to reduce the carbon emissions of the Xiaogang Sugar Refinery, TSC signed a natural gas purchase contract with Chinese Petroleum Corporation (CPC) in 2017. However, the residents in the neighboring areas had concerns about the pipeline burial projects due to the Kaohsiung Gas Explosions that happened on July 31, 2014, and therefore were against the project. For this reason, TSC not only conducted the installation project to change the fuel oil and backup boilers into natural gas ones but also visited the Xiaogang District Head and 5 relevant heads of the subdivisions of the district for coordination. We actively communicated with the neighboring residents and elected representatives, and after many times of communication, joint survey, and trial excavation, the off-site gas supply pipeline project was finally successfully contracted in June, 2020, and the Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) was approved in June, 2021, and the off-site pipeline burial project started. In January, 2022, the natural gas pipelines inside and outside the plant were completed, and the boiler operation permit were renewed. It has been nearly a year after the boilers were officially changed to use natural gas on March 14. There has not been any public safety problem caused by the use of natural gas and the residents in the neighboring areas have never filed complaints since. 

          TSC is a pioneer in pig farming with enterprise management in Taiwan. It has been more than 7 decades since TSC started the livestock breeding business in 1952, and it has established a modern enterprise business model in Taiwan. However, since the old traditional livestock houses were mainly made of bricks, the walls and fences are used as partitions to form an open livestock house. Even though the ventilation is good, the traditional way of handling pig manure and urine still have adverse visual, auditory, and olfactory impacts and causing discomfort on the lives of nearby residents, and thereby leading to continuous petitions and protests from the residents and sanctions from the Public Health Bureau, making the pig farms NIMBY facilities.

          To completely solve the environmental issues of pig farming, TSC first started the Dong Hai Feng Negative Pressure Water Curtain and Green Energy Design Pig Farm Renovation Project that was supported by the COA and MOEA and passed the resolution of the Executive Yuan. In 2018, TSC further launched the Agricultural Circulation Pig Farm Renovation and Investment Project to accelerate the modernization of livestock farms. Through the renovation, the inspection and control of wastewater and the wastewater treatment process in the park are strengthened, and review and improvement will continue to be reviewed for improvement. The pig manure and urine collected is treated in the following four paths.

1. Biomass energy:   Biogas produced through fermentation is used for power generation to increase revenue (green energy resources).
2. Biogas residue compost:   After solid-liquid separation, the biogas residues are turned over and matured to make compost, which not only is neighbor-friendly but also increases fertilizer income.
3. Biogas slurry recovery:   After sewage treatment, part of the biogas slurry is recycled to the site for reuse (water resources), and the odor is controlled to allowable range that is acceptable and compliant with regulations. It takes into account the pig farm configuration and production capacity, biological epidemic prevention, and proper treatment of sewage and odor, changing people’s stereotype, and enabling the public to gradually recognize the livestock and renewable energy circulation industry.
4. The biogas slurry and residue are used as fertilizer in the farmland:   We cooperate with EPA’s policy to use biogas slurry and residue to fertilize the farmland and for the reuse of agro-industrial waste, and the biogas slurry and residue are used on the farmland to increase the soil fertility reducing the discharge of wastewater to the river and thereby reduce pollution.
   

          TSC has a total of 17 pig farms, and all of them adopt the secondary wastewater treatment system, and qualified testing agencies are entrusted to take samples for analysis every 6 months in accordance with the Water Pollution Control Act (Wastewater discharge standards: BOD: 80 mg/L, COD: 600 mg/L, SS: 150 mg/L), and fill out animal husbandry wastewater(sewage) inspection declaration form online on the designated website of EPA to handle the regular inspection declaration via network transmission. TSC expects that in the future, after the livestock farms are renovated, new transformation opportunities will be brought to Taiwan’s livestock industry, so that it can take into account production and environmental sustainability, give the surrounding residents a fresh and green park that is odorless, allowing them to reduce their life and psychological dissatisfaction and embrace new five-sense experience. In the future, the green belt around the pig house will be open to the residents for use to achieve a true harmony with the residents.

          Biomass power generation uses pig manure and urine to generate biogas energy after anaerobic fermentation, and after desulfurization treatment, the GHG such as methane originally existing in the pig manure and urine can be converted into energy to avoid these GHG being emitted into the atmosphere to further aggravate global warming. In addition, after fermentation, the biogas slurry and residue can be used as fertilizers and be applied on the farmland for the growth of crops instead of causing pollution or waste.

          The Livestock Business Division has conducted the reuse of wastewater in the pig farms since 2022, The recovered and reuse amount of wastewater in the 16 pig farms (Waipu, Wanxing, Huwei, Douliu, Annei, Nanjing, Lucao, Haipu, Shanhua, Nan Shalun, Xincuo, Shilin Yi, Shilin Er, Da Xiang Yi Chang, Da Xiang Er Chang and Dong hai feng) totaled 631,949 tonnes. In addition, we work with the Environmental Protection Agency’s promotion of the use of biogas slurry and residues for farmland fertility and the reuse of agricultural business waste, and the biogas residues and slurry from the pig farms are irrigated to TSC’s self-owned farmland. As of 2022 the cumulative irrigation amounted to 67,619 tonnes (Nanjin, Xincuo, Shilin Yi, Shilin Er, Da Xiang Yi Chang and Da Xiang Er Chang), and the amount of reused liquid waste irrigated in Douliu Breeding Farm reached 3,239 tonnes. The biogas slurry is used on the farmland to increase soil fertility, reducing wastewater discharged to rivers and thus reduced pollution. 

          TSC will continue to promote energy conservation, carbon reduction, and actions related to green energy development when conducting pig farming business so that the livestock industry will no longer be an obnoxious industry that some people or groups claim should be responsible for the rise of global temperature and degradation of environment. We look forward to seeing more people, enterprises and groups to join the efforts for net zero emission to reduce the pace of deterioration of the environment on earth, so as to leave a better environment for ourselves and for the generations to come.