MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Novozymes Targets Cheaper Fuel from Cooking Oil
Novozymes Targets Cheaper Fuel from Cooking Oil
03/12/2014 (Business Green) - The cost of turning waste cooking oil into transport fuel could be dramatically reduced by new enzyme technology, Danish company Novozymes has claimed.
The biotech pioneer yesterday released Novozymes Eversa, billed as the first commercially available enzymatic solution to make biodiesel from lower grade waste oils, typically cooking oils generated by commercial canteens, factories and fast-food restaurants.
The majority of biodiesel is made from soybeans, palm or rapeseed, which are expensive and can conflict with food production. Using cooking oil bypasses the problem, although increasing demand for vegetable oil from the food industry has forced up prices.
Novozymes says allowing producers to use low grade oil reduces their raw material costs and that the process uses less energy and eliminates the need for sodium methoxide, one of the most hazardous chemicals in traditional biodiesel plants. It adds that while Eversa will require existing plants to be retrofitted, the payback time should be no more than three years.
"The idea of enzymatic biodiesel is not new, but the costs involved have been too high for commercial viability," said Frederik Mejlby, marketing director for Novozymes' grain processing division. "Eversa changes this and enables biodiesel producers to finally work with waste oils and enjoy feedstock flexibility to avoid the pinch of volatile pricing. The enzymatic process uses less energy, and the cost of waste oil as a feedstock is significantly lower than refined oils."
The biotech pioneer yesterday released Novozymes Eversa, billed as the first commercially available enzymatic solution to make biodiesel from lower grade waste oils, typically cooking oils generated by commercial canteens, factories and fast-food restaurants.
The majority of biodiesel is made from soybeans, palm or rapeseed, which are expensive and can conflict with food production. Using cooking oil bypasses the problem, although increasing demand for vegetable oil from the food industry has forced up prices.
Novozymes says allowing producers to use low grade oil reduces their raw material costs and that the process uses less energy and eliminates the need for sodium methoxide, one of the most hazardous chemicals in traditional biodiesel plants. It adds that while Eversa will require existing plants to be retrofitted, the payback time should be no more than three years.
"The idea of enzymatic biodiesel is not new, but the costs involved have been too high for commercial viability," said Frederik Mejlby, marketing director for Novozymes' grain processing division. "Eversa changes this and enables biodiesel producers to finally work with waste oils and enjoy feedstock flexibility to avoid the pinch of volatile pricing. The enzymatic process uses less energy, and the cost of waste oil as a feedstock is significantly lower than refined oils."