Orlen starts Europe’s largest plant producing ‘green’ glycol

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CHEMICALS & BIOCHEMICALS

PKN Orlen has brought on stream Poland’s first and Europe’s largest green propylene glycol production unit at its biorefinery in Trzebinia.

The unit has a capacity of 30,000 tonnes per year, enough to cover as much as 75% of the domestic demand for the product. An integral part of the complex is Poland’s first hydrogen hub with an annual production capacity of 350 tonnes of pure automotive-grade hydrogen.

Read more: Orlen to launch international hydrogen programme

The projects implemented in southern Poland are another step towards achieving the Group’s strategic goals for low- and zero-carbon energy.

Green glycol is a high-margin bio-based product that is clean and environmentally safe. It is used for a wide range of applications, including in medicine, cosmetics, and the food industry. It can also be used in aviation as an anti-icing and de-icing agent for aircraft. ORLEN Południe will produce 30,000 tonnes of green glycol a year, an impressive 10,000 tonnes more than Europe’s only unit of this type located in Belgium.

Glycerine obtained at the Trzebinia plant as a by-product of biodiesel production will be used to make eco-friendly glycol, which will be sold to customers in Poland and abroad. The project will also benefit other Polish biodiesel producers, from whom the company will source glycerine.

“We have launched a state-of-the-art unit to make green glycol in Trzebinia as demand for this bio-based product is constantly growing in Europe and around the world. Poland will be the leader of glycol production in Europe."

Read more: Orlen set to build its first hydrogen refuelling stations

"At the same time, we are bringing on stream Poland’s first hydrogen hub, which forms part of the glycol complex. The completed projects will stimulate fast growth of the Orlen Group in strategic areas while significantly strengthening the competitive advantage of the Polish economy,” said Daniel Obajtek, the President of Orlen's Management Board.

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