Italy-headed oil and gas major Eni S.p.A has revealed that it has signed agreements with the Federation of public owned energy, water and environmental companies (Utilitalia) and the National Consortium for the Collection and Treatment of Used Oils and Fats (CONOE) that will enable it to sign specific agreements for the collection of used cooking oil (UCO) with the different waste management companies in the places in Italy where Eni has a presence.
According to a statement, Eni has signed agreements with Utilitalia and CONOE to boost the collection of used cooking oil (UCO) produced in the homes of Eni’s employees. The collection will be made from Eni sites across the country, including operational headquarters and production plants.
The agreement, which follows a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed in May, will enable Eni to sign specific agreements with the different waste management companies in the places where Eni has a presence, for the installation and management of systems for the collection of vegetable oil. Of a global workforce of 33 000, the company has around 20 500 employees in Italy.
CONOE will be responsible, through its companies, for the treatment of the material so it that can be processed through Eni’s biorefinery in Venice for subsequent transformation into hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), the biocomponent of its premium fuel, Eni Diesel+.
The company says that this is is a “first step to supporting the activities of CONOE and the companies represented by Utilitalia, to be followed by specific systematic recovery projects for used cooking oil (UCO), especially from domestic use, in many Italian towns and cities.”
The agreement will also make it possible to establish a virtuous cycle, a “circular economy”, that will lead to the transformation of UCO into high-quality biofuel, and thereby “fully enhance a national energy resource.”
The recovery of UCO will make it possible to effect a marked reduction in the impact on water purification systems with significant environmental and economic benefits for the municipalities that support the programme. In addition, the recovered UCO will be transformed by Eni into hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) at the company’s Venice biorefinery.
