Italian energy giant Eni and CONOE, the National Consortium for the Collection and Treatment of Used Oils and Fats, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote and increase the collection of vegetable oils to feed Eni’s biorefineries.

Eni will use the oil at its biorefinery in Venice and, from 2018, in Gela. The Venice plant, which Eni said is the first in the world to be converted into a biorefinery, can transform organic raw materials into high-quality biofuels. Since May 2014, the plant has produced green diesel, green naphtha and LPG and has the capacity to create jet fuel. It is currently fed by palm oil, which will be partially replaced by the used vegetable oils, and soon by oils from animal fats as well as algae and waste.

Once the Gela refinery starts operations sometime next year, Eni’s capacity to process vegetable oils will be around 1 million t/y, giving the Italian group the ability to acquire all products from CONOE companies on the national market, which amounted to more than 65,000 t in 2016.

The MoU also envisages further joint ventures between Eni and CONOE, as well as with local public authorities and waste collection companies, to promote the collection of increasing amounts of oil waste produced by Italian households, most of which is currently almost entirely scrapped.