In Poland, oil refiner ORLEN Południe, an ORLEN Group company, has launched a new facility at its Trzebinia refinery to produce biocomponents from used cooking oils (UCO) and animal fats.
According to a statement, the new UCO FAME unit in Trzebinia is part of the Group’s strategy in the area of biofuels, enabling the replacement of fossil fuels with fuels made from waste materials.
The ORLEN Group is investing in state-of-the-art solutions and technologies that will facilitate the dynamic development of the production of green alternative fuels. Their manufacturing process will utilize non-food raw materials, including waste, in line with the principles of circular economy. The first project of this type is the UCO FAME plant commissioned in Trzebinia, enabling the conversion of used cooking oils into bio-additives, said Daniel Obajtek, CEO and President of the Management Board at ORLEN.
Circular bioeconomy
Construction of the UCO FAME production and distillation facility began in November 2021, with the Polish engineering firm AB Industry as the general contractor. The total cost of the project was about PLN 127.5 million.
Using 30,000 tonnes of feedstock in the form of used cooking oils (UCO) and animal fats from food processing, the new UCO FAME unit in Trzebinia will deliver 30,000 tonnes of second-generation fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and 7,000 tonnes of technical-grade glycerine annually.
The reuse of waste in biofuel production will have a positive impact on the natural environment and will foster the advancement of the circular economy.
按照国家减排目标,the project will contribute to a further decrease in carbon emissions in transport.
Feedstock for biochemicals
The esters produced at the UCO FAME plant generate up to 83 percent less emissions than conventional diesel oil and will be used as a blendstock for diesel fuel.
侦探hnical-grade glycerine, a by-product of the ester production process, may be used by Trzebinia plants to manufacture green propylene glycol, an environmentally safe product finding applications in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and medical industries.
This investment marks yet another milestone in the process of transforming ORLEN Południe into a modern biorefinery, bringing the ORLEN Group closer to the achievement of its strategic objectives. By 2030, the use of bio-additives in the ORLEN Group will increase to about 3 million tonnes annually and will be an important business area for ORLEN, ended Daniel Obajtek.
