People can now deliver used cooking oil at six filling stations in the Ústí Region, i.e., in Ústí nad Labem, Teplice, Chomutov, Litvínov, and Most. Together with the Czech Technical University in Prague and the Czech University of Life Sciences, the ORLEN Unipetrol Group has launched a pilot project aimed at examining the recycling options of used cooking oil and its effective conversion into biofuel and petrochemicals. The project, co-funded by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic as part of the TREND programme, fully aligns with the ORLEN Unipetrol Group’s strategy to expand energy generation and products from renewable sources.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Group intends to be emissions-neutral by 2050 at the latest. The specific objectives are elaborated in the Group’s strategic development until 2030. They also include expanded circular economy principles in the refining and petrochemical segment.
“We have long addressed the issue of converting waste materials effectively into products that can be used as a quality source of carbon to produce fuels or plastics. The idea of collecting cooking oil is nothing new. What is new and, above all, safer and more environmentally friendly is the way we want to handle and treat this waste. There are many companies that specialise in collecting cooking oil, particularly from restaurants. However, we want to focus primarily on households and offer them a safe and waste-free collection of used vegetable oils. Nowadays, the collected oil is purified and sold on to produce a methyl ester known as MEŘO. ORLEN Unipetrol is already ready to use the purified waste oils to produce an oxygen-free high octane biofuel known as HVO, i.e. hydrodeoxygenated vegetable oil. The resulting biofuel has better stability than conventional MEŘO and a higher cetane number than diesel oil. In addition, its manufacture and incineration produce fewer CO2 emissions,” explains Jiří Hájek, CEO and chairman of the Board of Directors of ORLEN UniCRE a.s.
The project, officially entitled “Research and Development of the Technology of Cleaning and Recycling Cooking Oils, including a Collection System (EUCOTECH)”, was launched in 2021 and will last until 2024. It focuses on designing a system of the decentralised and automated collection of used cooking oil (UCO) from households and subsequently examining and developing suitable separation and refining processes for its treatment into hydrodeoxygenated vegetable oil (HVO). HVO can then be integrated into the process of refining and petrochemical production.
“The current initiatives in Czechia focusing on the municipal collection of cooking oil are interlinked by several factors. First and foremost, most initiatives have only local scope, i.e., they mostly involve cooperation between a municipality and the local waste collecting company to meet the statutory duty of sorting municipal cooking oil. In general, they have only a limited number of collection points. Also, they collect used oil in plastic containers such as PET bottles, which are thrown into designated plastic containers, mostly placed in waste collection sites,” explains Doc. Ing. Vladimír Hönig, PhD et PhD, a deputy head of the Department of Chemistry at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague. He adds: “The EUCOTECH project involves an accessible network of collection points set to expand throughout the Czech Republic. We want to change the general public’s attitude and make them opt for another systematic waste collection possibilities.”
People in the Ústí Region can join the collection of used cooking oil at six ORLEN Benzina filling stations in the region from the start of June until the end of 2024. More detailed information is available at sbirejolej.cz or in the ORLEN Benzina app. “This project has now entered the stage of the pilot verification of the developed technology of cleaning and treating used oil into products suitable for further processing during refining and petrochemical processes. Also, we want to prepare documentation for the automated collection and oil processing at scale. Therefore, we invite the general public to join this scientific project and help the environment. We assume to collect up to 20 tonnes of used cooking oil for research purposes by the end of 2024,” Jiří Hájek continues.
Joining the project is easy. After registering in the ORLEN Benzina app, people may pick up a standardised container designed for storing used cooking oil. When it is full, people can deliver it at one of the six ORLEN Benzina outlets into a semi-automated collection box 24/7 and exchange it for an empty container. “Special collection containers make it possible to reuse them and reduce the sanitary risks associated with waste management. Also, this approach does not produce any solid plastic waste contaminated with oils, which would require disposal at a landfill or through incineration. We want to thank everyone who joins the collection of used cooking oils,” Jiří Hájek concludes.
The collection of used cooking oil is implemented as part of the FW03010367 EUCOTECH project, co-funded by the state support from the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic within the TREND programme.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Group is the largest refining and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses on crude oil processing and the production, distribution and sale of vehicle fuels and petrochemical products – particularly plastics and fertilisers. It belongs among the key players on the Czech and Central European markets in all these areas. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group encompasses refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo in Pardubice, Spolana in Neratovice, REMAQ in Otrokovice, and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. ORLEN Unipetrol also includes the ORLEN Benzina filling station network in the Czech Republic and a network of ORLEN outlets in Slovakia and Hungary. In 2005, ORLEN Unipetrol became a member of the ORLEN Group, the largest multi-energy company in Central Europe. ORLEN Unipetrol employs almost 6,000 people and is active in corporate social responsibility. It seeks to promote initiatives that cultivate and support sustainable development, education, local communities, and the environment.