UK-based Agri opens state-of-the-art biodiesel plant in Liverpool
May 9, 2012
BY Agri Energy
The U.K.’s largest used cooking oil biodiesel plant launched in Liverpool today. The opening comes on the back of a multimillion pound investment into biodiesel production by Agri.
The advanced processing plant in Bootle will be solely dedicated to producing biodiesel from used cooking oil and will complement Agri’s existing national used cooking oil collection business. The plant has been constructed on a Brownfield site, which has a history of reprocessing oils and fats going back more than 150 years. To this end, Agri has been able to not only regenerate an area of Liverpool but also create green employment opportunities.
Transport Minister Norman Baker will be officially opening the plant. “I am pleased to be able to open Agri’s biodiesel plant, the largest plant dedicated to the production of biodiesel made from used cooking oil in the U.K.,” he said. “The investment made by Agri and projects like this can help the U.K. meet its ambitious carbon reduction targets while creating green jobs to rebuild the economy. Sustainable biofuels have an important role to play in our efforts to tackle climate change, particularly where there is no viable alternative fuel identified. Biodiesel produced from used cooking oil can be one of the most sustainable biofuels and I am also pleased to see, through administration of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, the progress that has been made by U.K. biofuel suppliers in the auditing of the sustainability of the biofuels they supply.”
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There has been a growing trend to convert waste oils and fats into transport fuels as these can have a positive effect on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Agri’s biodiesel plant is the culmination of six year’s work to establish a business capable of providing customers with an efficient service to collect their used cooking oil for production into a high-quality green fuel.
Agri’s purpose-built biodiesel plant features cutting-edge technology that enables it to produce 16 million liters (4.23 million gallons) of EN14214 biodiesel per year—a European specification of biodiesel that isn’t usually achievable with standard technology in biodiesel plants when using used cooking oil as a feedstock.
Furthermore, the plant has also been designed to maximize its carbon efficiency savings.
Eddie O’Reilly, Agri’s biodiesel plant manager, said, “By using ISO 14064 methods we can measure the carbon footprint of our biodiesel to show at least 90 percent less greenhouse gas emissions when compared to regular mineral diesel. This makes it the most sustainable type of biodiesel in the world.”
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Agri’s biodiesel plant meets the needs of customers looking for a closed loop solution to their energy needs.
Adam Baisley, head of business development at Agri, added, “Customers are looking to create value out of the resources that Agri can recover. That value comes in both cost savings as well as carbon reductions.”
Agri is a national renewable energy company that recycles organic waste such as used cooking oil and food waste into sustainable resources. It provides collection services to more than 50,000 food manufacturing, catering and retail customers from Lands End to the Highlands of Scotland. Their mission is to provide food business with a virtuous cycle of integrated supply, collection and conversion solutions delivered to the highest service standards.
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