Technology

The Ecofining^TM technology was developed at the Eni Research Centre in San Donato Milanese, Italy, in collaboration with Honeywell UOP, a multinational leader in technological innovation for refineries. It allows to process biogenic raw materials into high-quality biofuels, converting different types of feedstocks such as animal fats and vegetable oils from waste from the agri-food industry and used cooking oils.

Biofuels are obtained by subjecting raw materials to a series of processes. Wastes, refuse and oils are supplied in ships and tankers and are stored in tanks before being subjected to two treatments: 

• a physical one to remove impurities
• a chemical one that leads to the actual transformation into biofuels.  

During the first (physical) treatment, any critical components for the Ecofining™ section are removed from the biochar, in particular solid residue and gum through washing and centrifugation procedures (degumming), followed by metals through an earth filtration system (bleaching). The resulting oil, which is free of metals and solid residues,  mainly consist of triglycerides and fatty acids.

The oil feedstock then goes through the second (chemical) Ecofining™ treatment, which is transformed into hydrocarbons through two stages: hydrogenation and isomerisation.

• Hydrogenation involves treating the initial feedstock with hydrogen to eliminate oxygen and saturate the double bonds.
• Isomerition "restructures" the resulting paraffins to improve their cold properties.

The end result is the hydrogenated biofuel HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) that is very similar (isoparaffins) to fossil diesel.

Source: eni, what is Ecofining^TM. (link and description have changed since originally accessed)