Italy-headed oil and gas major Eni S.p.A and the Governorate of the Vatican City State, the world's smallest independent state, have signed a collaborative agreement whereby used cooking oil (UCO) from Vatican restaurants will be used by Eni to produce renewable diesel for Vatican City State transport.
On December 20, Eni and the Governorate of the Vatican City State signed an agreement for the circular economy. S.E.R. Mons. Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, Secretary General of the Governorate of the Vatican City State and Giuseppe Ricci, Chief Refining & Marketing Officer of Eni, signed a collaboration agreement for the use of high-quality biodiesel with a low environmental impact, produced and marketed by Eni, for Vatican City State transport.
Eni’s Venice and Gela biorefineries will soon recycle used cooking oil (UCO) from restaurants in Vatican City. After undergoing a purification and regeneration process, the UCO will be used in the Eni biorefinery in Porto Marghera, Venice to produce Eni Diesel+ to power the Vatican’s vehicles.
Since May 2014, the Venice biorefinery has been producing biofuels using ever-increasing quantities of UCO, animal fats, and other waste raw materials to replace vegetable oils certified for sustainability; the Gela biorefinery will be launched within the first quarter of 2019, after undergoing the same conversion.
Tests conducted in Eni’s and the CNR Istituto Motori’s laboratories have shown that the use of Eni Diesel+ reduces polluting emissions by up to 40 percent compared to conventional fossil diesel fuel, in particular, nitrogen oxides (NOx), primary and secondary particulate matter (PM), especially ultrafine particles.
In addition, the high calorific value and the presence of a detergent additive keeps the engine clean and reduces the need for maintenance interventions. Combustion efficiency is improved and lower fuel consumption of up to 4 percent can be achieved.
