Syndial and Veritas have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Venice to jointly study the construction methods of an industrial plant to transform the organic fraction of solid municipal waste (OFSMW) into bio oil and bio methane.
Image: The MoU has been signed to construct an OFSMW plant in an abandoned and reclaimed area of the petrochemical plant at Porto Marghera. Photo courtesy of James Knight/Freeimages.com
The MoU has been signed to construct an OFSMW plant in an abandoned and reclaimed area of the petrochemical plant at Porto Marghera.
Under the agreement, both the parties are expected to share technical and governance assessments for the management and construction of the Porto Marghera plant.
Veritas would provide approximately 100 thousand tons of OFSMW and other humid waste fractions from the separate waste collection scheme of the Venice metropolitan area and the referral market.
Syndial would provide reclaimed area of property, and is expected to build and manage the industrial plant that applies Eni’s “Waste to fuel” technology, which was the result of research carried out in the Eni Center for Renewable Energies and the Environment located in Novara.
The company said that in December 2018, Syndial has launched the first “Waste to Fuel” pilot plant in Gela, Sicily, replicating a process that nature performs to transform prehistoric biomass into energy. The water that is generated through its production will be used for industrial and irrigation uses.
Venice Province and City Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said: “Venice has made the circular economy one of its key strengths and it is certainly not by chance that the city together with all its residents has been recognized on a national level as a leader in separate waste collection. We have demonstrated how new alternative energy sources can be generated: nothing is wasted and new wealth is generated from waste.
“What today may seem to be a costly problem will be transformed tomorrow into a valuable advantage, as indicated in the Metropolitan Strategic Plan approved unanimously last December. Venice seeks to be a worldwide testament to how a big city, with thousands of inhabitants and millions of visitors, can also develop an innovative system, from a scientific and technological point of view, with an increasingly green and eco-friendly mentality, moving the economy and above all generating employment.”
The company said that the bio oil can be used as a sulphur-free fuel for naval vessels or subjected to additional refining for the production of biofuels for transport.
Syndial and Veritas estimate an investment of around €60m for the realization of Porto Marghera project, subject to the obtainment of the necessary permits.
Once fully operational, the Porto Marghera plant is capable of processing up to 150 thousand tons of organic waste, and employing at least 40 resources, between direct and indirect employees, other than the companies involved in construction works.