Rome, 28 September 2018 – Eni and AMA, a public company of Roma Capitale, signed an agreement today to launch collection points for waste cooking oil produced in the homes of its employees at Eni's Rome offices in Piazzale Mattei and Via Ribotta, which will then be converted into high quality biofuels.
In addition to the twelve AMA collection centers currently available in the city, AMA will install dedicated containers at the sites, while Eni will give each of its 1,800 employees a special oil tank to facilitate collection and transport. An internal information campaign was also launched as part of Eni's programme to spread and consolidate the message of the benefits of a circular economy in all its business areas, with the aim of greater efficiency and sustainability around energy production and use.
The collected waste cooking oil will be purified and sent to the Eni Biorefinery in Venice, the first example in the world of an oil refinery that has been converted into a biorefinery, which will convert the oil into high quality biofuel, Enidiesel +, which contains 15% of the renewed product and is available in over 3500 of Eni's petrol stations.
The agreement signed today is a positive example of cooperation towards the development of the circular economy: waste oil, or that which is no longer suitable for human consumption, can easily leak into the environment and become a potential threat to human, animal and environmental health. It is particularly harmful for sewage and water systems. If correctly managed and recovered however, it can be a used as a key resource in the production of biofuels, lubricants and detergent bases.
Eni, a world leader in the energy sector, is committed to the development of biofuels and the environmental sustainability of its products, in particular those derived from non-edible raw materials obtained from urban waste, which are used to fuel its Venice Biorefinery, established in 2014, and which will also be processed in its new Gela plant, which will be completed and launched by the end of the year.
The agreement signed today also covers the establishment of a joint technical board who will be tasked with examining and evaluating the feasibility of developing industrial projects aimed at reclaiming waste from urban collection, and converting it into energy products such as biofuels, bio oil and hydrogen. AMA will also be looking into opportunities to use Enidiesel + fuel in its fleet of company vehicles to reduce its environmental impact. Tests carried out at the Eni laboratories in San Donato Milanese in collaboration with and under the supervision of the CNR Institute for Research on Engines of Naples have shown that the use of Eni Diesel + reduces emissions, particularly nitrogen oxide, as well as primary and secondary particulate matter and ultrafine particles. Furthermore, the high calorific value of the biological component also reduces fuel consumption.
