Eni has transformed the refinery in Porto Marghera into a bio-refinery that produces green fuel. The project, called Green Refinery, is the first of its kind and uses Eni's EcofiningTM technology to convert organic raw materials into high-quality biofuels. The refinery currently uses palm oil but plans to also use biomass. The conversion not only has environmental and technological significance but also provides economic and social benefits by giving new life to the plant and ensuring continued employment. Additionally, the conversion leads to a significant reduction in emissions.
Eni has breathed new life into the refinery in Porto Marghera, converting it to the production of green fuel.
Biofuel from vegetable oil
Eni’s Green Refinery project at Porto Marghera in Venice is the world’s first example of the conversion of a conventional refinery into a bio-refinery able to transform organic raw materials into high quality biofuels. The plant produces green diesel, green naphtha, LPG and potentially also jet fuel. It is currently fed by palm oil, but the plan is also to use biomass. The technological core of the project is EcofiningTM, a system developed in the San Donato Milanese laboratories in collaboration with Honeywell-UOP and then applied to the catalytic hydro-desulphurisation section of the Venice refinery. EcofiningTM has also enabled us to embark on yet another ambitious experimental development, namely the supply of biodiesel for the Italian navy’s offshore patrol vessel Foscari, the first example of its kind in the world.
A new life for the refinery
For Eni, the conversion of an oil refinery to a bio-refinery is not only of environmental and technological significance, but also of economic and social importance, since it allows us to give new life to the plant and guarantee continued employment through innovation. Reusing an existing structure instead of building a new one offers considerable savings at the initial investment level.
Another benefit of the conversion that we care about as a company is the marked reduction in emissions.