PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Petroleum products still account for 95% of fuel consumption by European road transport and represent 21% of European greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The European Union has set a target for every Member State that at least 10% of its transport fuel comes from renewable sources by 2020.
First generation biofuels - such as agricultural bioethanol, to be used in gasoline engines, and biodiesel, made from oilseed crops, for use in standard diesel engines – have helped reduce GHG emissions, but they also have a negative impact on water and soils, as well as competing for land used by food crops.
By 2013, EU strategy was re-oriented towards “advanced” biofuels, made from waste or agricultural and forestry residues (second generation) or algae (third generation). Used cooking oils (UCOs) are processed from food industry and catering waste; cheap and widely available, they are playing an increasing role in the development of advanced biofuels. However, although the legislative framework is in place, less than 40% of discarded UCOs are collected, and the biofuels processed from these are still associated with negative environmental impacts. Moreover, current biofuel production chains still mostly resort to the import and long-distance transport of material to large-capacity processing units: freight accounts for up to 20% of the GHG impact of these biofuels' life-cycle.
OBJECTIVES
BIOHEC-LIFE aimed to achieve the following:
- Validate an eco-designed, compact and flexible demonstrator in order to produce competively-priced advanced biofuels derived from UCO and bioethanol;
- Provide French local authorities’ transport fleets with locally-produced biofuel;
- Validate the economic, social and environmental model of the production chain in the city of Lille and Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie region;
- Prepare the replication and deployment of this model in subsequent French and European territories through partnerships and franchises; and
- Develop and promote new methods enabling the optimised recovery of UCOs.
RESULTS
The BIOHEC-LIFE project developed a prototype for producing biodiesel from used cooking oils (UCOs) with a daily capacity of 5000 litres. All regulatory authorisations and derogations were obtained for producing, testing and selling the biodiesel B30 (30% biodiesel and 70% diesel) and B100 (100 % biodiesel). The project then tested the fuel B30 in real-life conditions on nine vehicles over six to 30 months. Its environmental performance was shown to comply with Euro 6 standards. The second prototype fuel, B100, was scheduled to be distributed to local partners at the end of 2021.
The project sought to lower the cost of biodiesel production by selecting and optimising a new enzyme, while also respecting the EN14214 standard. The team also modified the acid treatment of UCOs, ahead of its scheduled implementation in 2022. These new procedures were added to an updated bibliographic study on transforming used cooking greases with respect of the reaction temperature, the alcohol/grease ratio and the rate of alcohol incorporation. Furthermore, the purification of the co-product glycerol was tested and led to promising results.
To publicise the results of the project and increase public participation in UCOs collection, 35 events and communication activities were organised. The coordinating beneficiary Gecco sponsored The Planet Challenge that develops awareness programmes in primary schools; a total of more than 1600 children from 63 classes in 46 schools were reached. The project moreover designed special UCOs containers for installation in waste-collection centres, supermarkets, and social residences, with the aim of encouraging the public to recycle UCOs. Around 464.5 tonnes of UCOs were collected during the project, corresponding to a reduction of GHG emissions of 1383 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Finally, the beneficiary assessed the potential for replicating the prototype elsewhere in France and Europe in general. It identified nine possible replication partners in France and two in Spain. Thanks to the dissemination actions carried out during the project, the Gecco network now covers around two-thirds French territory.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).
