A new biomass treatment unit starts production at Eni biorefinery in Gela

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Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF.

Eni’s new BTU (Biomass Treatment Unit) has begun production 18 months after the biorefinery was opened, allowing up to 100% of raw material waste to be used for biofuel production.
Press release: “Biomass treatment plant launches in Gela”, 19/03/2021.
Related post: “Eni opens its second HVO biorefinery in Italy”, 27/09/2019.

The launch of the BTU completes the second phase of the transformation of the industrial site, which is solely dedicated to sustainable production processes. It will enable the Eni biorefinery in Gela to use up to 100% of the biomass from used cooking oil and fats from fish and meat processing produced in Sicily to create a circular economy model for the production of biobased diesel, naphtha, LPG and jet. Castor oil will also be used to feed the Gela biorefinery, thanks to an experimental project to grow castor plants on semi-desert land in Tunisia, thereby completely replacing palm oil, which will no longer be used in Eni's production processes from 2023.

The plant’s construction began in early 2020 and despite slowdowns caused by the management of activities during the pandemic, the vast majority of the project was completed on schedule. 1.3 million hours were worked, with zero accidents for both Eni people and contract workers. The BTU adds to the technology already in use, which includes Ecofining™ (Eni-UOP technology to produce biofuels from biological origin raw materials), steam reforming to produce hydrogen and the Waste to Fuel pilot plant built by Eni Rewind, which transforms the organic fraction of municipal solid waste into bio-oil and bio-methane.

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