Eni biorefinery begins collecting UCO from its employees

In Porto Marghera, Italy, Eni has started collecting used cooking oil (UCO) from the homes of its employees to be used as feedstock for advanced biofuels.

According to the Italian oil and gas giant, it is the first company in the world to take a traditional refinery and successfully transform it into a biorefinery using proprietary technology. The move to start collecting UCO forms part of a circular economy programme across all of the company’s business areas.

The project at Eni’s Venice biorefinery, located in the Porto Marghera industrial area, follows on from an agreement between the company and the utility responsible for the collection and treatment of waste in the Venice area - Veritas. The project is set to be extended to the Porto Marghera petrochemical plant where Eni subsidiaries Versalis and Syndial operate.

According to an announcement from Eni, a container made specifically for the collection of UCO has been installed inside the biorefinery, while employees have been given special ‘jerry cans’ to allow them to dispose of their used oils.

Veritas will be in charge of emptying the container. The City of Venice, Veritas, AVM/ACTV and Eni signed an agreement on 9 March 2018 to deliver the purified oil to the Venice Bio-Refinery, which will then convert the oil into the company’s biofuel Enidiesel+, a 15% renewable product, which will be used by the vaporetti (Venetian waterbuses) in the lagoon.