Eni and Hera today signed a partnership aimed at transforming used vegetable oil into biofuel to power Hera's company waste collection vehicles.
The agreement provides that used vegetable oils for domestic use, such as those for frying, recovered by Hera through approximately 400 roadside containers and in approximately 120 collection centres, will be sent to the Eni biorefinery in Venice, in Porto Marghera, the first example in the world conversion of an oil refinery into a biorefinery, which will transform it into green diesel, a completely renewable product which makes up 15% of Enidiesel+. The biofuel will power the Hera company vehicles for the collection of urban waste. In the experimental phase, Enidiesel+ will be used by about thirty large vehicles, in order to optimize the environmental benefit, in the Modena area.
The agreement signed today expands the virtuous circle already started by Eni with the multi-utility companies of Turin, Venice and Rome and whose tests were carried out have already demonstrated important benefits in terms of air quality, economic and industrial. In fact, compared to traditional diesel, Enidiesel+ has a renewable component that reduces polluting emissions by up to 40%, allowing for savings in consumption of around 4% and a reduction in engine maintenance costs. The same technical improvement parameters deriving from the use of biofuel will be subject to joint monitoring by the two companies, in collaboration with the Istituto Motori of the CNR.
To further support the initiative, Hera has chosen to enhance roadside collection of vegetable oils with the introduction of 300 new dedicated containers in the territories served. In 2017 alone, 800 tons of used vegetable oils were collected, recovered and then processed to be used as lubricants or through energy recovery. An increasingly widespread service which, by encouraging correct recovery, also aims to prevent behaviors, such as the spillage of oils in the sink, which are harmful to domestic pipes and water purification systems.
“With the conversion of the Venice refinery, the first in the world to be transformed into a biorefinery, to which the Gela refinery will also be added in a few months, also remodeled to the bio cycle – he comments Giuseppe Ricci, Eni Chief Refining & Marketing Officer – Eni has begun the energy transition process in which biofuels play an increasingly important role in the decarbonisation process of our planet. With the agreement signed with Hera, we add an important element to our concrete commitment to the circular economy and consolidate the use of waste, frying oil, as an important raw material for the production of the innovative fuel Enidiesel+, in substitution of edible raw material. Thanks to the initiatives and agreements that Eni has developed following the agreement with CONOE (National Consortium for the collection and treatment of used vegetable and animal fats and oils) and with its individual associates, today over 50% of used frying oil harvested in Italy is transformed into biofuel in the Venice biorefinery, with clear advantages for the environment and for the numerous economic operators in the sector”.
“An economy model is truly circular if it deals with the entire life cycle of resources, with real partnerships between responsible businesses and citizens, going beyond just the management of the terminal phase, i.e. the collection of waste, perhaps delivered to third parties – it is the comment of Stefano Venier, Chief Executive Officer of the Hera Group –. In this sense, Hera is committed not only to extending the life cycle of materials, through recycling and reuse initiatives, but also to developing solutions and plants aimed at transforming materials into new products or obtaining energy from them, especially in the organic supply chain. The agreement with Eni follows up on this orientation, identifying a new field of application in which we enhance the recovered material, contributing to decarbonisation and energy efficiency. Waste oil that becomes biofuel with an advanced environmental footprint and is reused for waste collection is a perfect example of circular economy, which fits in the wake of the numerous initiatives we have already launched in this area".
