First industrial-grade geothermal food dehydrator of Latin America installed in Nayarit, Mexico

Food dehydration facility, Nayarit, Mexico (source: DGA)

The first industrial-grade Geothermal Food Dehydrator (DGA de Nayarit) in Latin America has been installed in Mexico, which enables the use heat power from the residual energy of the geothermal power plant at Domo de San Pedro. Domo de San Pedro’s Geothermal Resource Center is located in the coastal state of Nayarit, Mexico.

The first geothermal cascaded-use application in México is finally ready for commercial operation, thanks to the hard work of entities from the public and private sector. The project has been brought to fruition and led by iiDEA (Instituto de Ingenierfa, Desalacion y Energfas Alternas) and its technology, the company PI INGENERA and its geothermal experience, the support of Grupo Dragon, and again leverage from the Mexican Federal Government and the World Bank.

This is the beginning of a new model to maximize the utilisation of heat from the Earth and to use it for developing sustainable projects, bringing a fresh mindset. This prioritizes social integration and cultivates a green culture in its surroundings. It is well known that in other countries like Iceland, geothermal energy has been used in a variety of applications for a long time, achieving multiple benefits from this clean and natural resource. However, so far at industrial level it is still an innovative application in Mexico and Latin America.

The DGA de Nayarit has three independent modules (or dry chambers) for the food dehydration. Each module can process up to 3,000 kg/batch/day of alimentary pulp, which represents a total of up to 9,000 kg/batch/day of food processing.

The facility has a plant surface of 2,000 m2, and it will generate up to 50 local direct jobs (80% women) and around 60 people indirect employment in the region. Currently, mango, pineapple, tomato, and jackfruit are the diversity of food under the dehydration process, and the plant is enabled to process any other kind of food product besides fruit.

The food processing plant is located inside of the geothermal power plant Domo de San Pedro in Nayarit Mexico, a plant operated by Grupo Dragón, and it uses the hot brine before reinjection into the geothermal reservoir.

“Deshidratador Geotérmico de Alimentos de Nayarit” or DGA de Nayarit is the company in charge of the commercial operation of the food dehydration plant, marketing and offering the products to the international and national markets.

For local markets, the brand GeoDry is the one in charge of distribution and promotes the final dehydrated product

It is a big step for the low and medium enthalpy geothermal energy uses in Latin America, as it demonstrates that it can be a feasible project, sustainable and socially inclusive.

Partners to the project:

We thank Michelle Ramírez Bueno for sharing this article with ThinkGeoEnergy.