03.11.2021
Environmentally friendly project in Trzebinia
ORLEN Południe, a member of the ORLEN Group, has signed a contract for the construction in Trzebinia of a UCO FAME plant which will convert used cooking oils and animal fats into 30,000 tonnes of second generation esters and 7,000 tonnes of technical grade glycerine annually. Deployment of the related innovative and environmentally friendly solutions will mark yet another milestone in the process to transform ORLEN Południe into a state-of-the-art biorefinery and also step up development of alternative fuel lines, which is one of the ORLEN Group’s strategic objectives. The investment project in Trzebinia, with a value estimated at approximately PLN 127.5m, will be completed in the first quarter of 2023.
- We are committed to developing our business in a sustainable way, recognising the growing importance of latest technologies in building competitive advantage. The UCO FAME plant will increase the supply of alternative second-generation biocomponents, with a benefit to the natural environment. This innovative solution will allow us to expand our portfolio by adding another environmentally friendly product, and ORLEN Południe – to continue developing advanced know-how in biotechnology. Importantly, the project is also in line with the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive II, which promotes the processing and reuse of waste products - said Daniel Obajtek, President of the PKN ORLEN Management Board.
ORLEN Południe is Poland’s leading supplier of biofuels and biocomponents, which it produces at its Trzebinia refinery. The UCO FAME plant will produce 30,000 tonnes of esters and a further 7,000 tonnes of glycerine from approximately 30,000 tonnes of oils per year. The project will contribute to reducing carbon emissions in line with the National Reduction Target, as UCO FAME production can help decrease CO2 emissions from related processes by as much as 83%, while production of standard esters – by just about 55%.
The project also supports the achievement of the National Indicative Target, which caps the share of first-generation bio-components in biofuel production. Moreover, on completion, the plant will enable technical separation of a stream of vegetable glycerine, which will be used in Trzebinia for the production of environmentally friendly propylene glycol.
Construction of the UCO FAME plant will begin in November 2021 and is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2023. The general contractor of the project is the Polish engineering company AB Industry.
