Eni biomass treatment unit begins production in Gela, Italy

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CHEMICALS & BIOCHEMICALS

Italian energy company Eni has announced the start of production at its new Biomass Treatment Unit (BTU) facility in Gela, Italy, following successful tests a few days ago.

Enig BTU plant will enable its biorefinery to use as much as 100% of the biomass from used cooking oils and fats from meat and fish processing in Sicily. The aim is to create a model for the zero-kilometre circular economy for the production of biofuels such as biodiesel and biojet, which is used in sustainable aviation.

The biorefinery, which has been in operation since 2019, will be fed with castor oil, which will completely replace the use of palm oil in the company's production processes from 2023 onwards, following a successful project growing castor plants on semi-desert land in Tunisia.

Construction on the plant began in early 2020 and, despite delays and slowdowns caused by the pandemic, it was completed on schedule.

Read more: Refineries turn to biofuels as oil demand slumps

The BTU plant's launch completes phase two of the transformation of the industrial site, which was dedicated to sustainability, decarbonisation and the company's push towards an energy transition.

Eni has committed itself to the total decarbonisation of its products and processes by 2050. The plan for 2021-2024 plan is to double the production capacity of its biorefineries by 2024 to around 2 million tonnes.

Eni has said the Gela transformation project is intended as an example of a regenerative circular economy, which allows for the conversion of fossil-fuel-based production cycles. The project is also connected with the demolition of redundant facilities and is part of the push towards, what it calls "environmental remediation".

Following the slump in demand for oil products during the coronavirus pandemic, which was already being sent on a downward trend due to stricter environmental regulations, many companies began to pivot towards biofuel production.

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