Orlen Południe, a Poland-based biofuels manufacturer, has wrapped up its first year of operation of its BioPG plant (annual capacity: 30,000 metric tons), which upcycles biobased glycerol left over from biodiesel production into renewable propylene glycol under BASF's BioPG banner.
BioPG has applications in foods and flavors, as well as beauty and personal care, such as deodorant sticks and toothpaste.
The process leverage's BASF’s process technology and proprietary H9-66 catalyst, which enables the hydrogenation in liquid phase without any need for separation of intermediates or solvents, leading to lower energy consumptions compared to other processes.
Per the manufacturer, BioPG has a 60% smaller carbon footprint than conventional fossil-based propylene glycol, while retaining the same product quality.
The Orlen Południe manufacturing was also supported by a partnership with Air Liquide Engineering & Construction, which provided the license, basic engineering and proprietary equipment for the new plant.
Projects such as this will reportedly help Orlen Południe achieve CO2 neutrality by 2050.
"We are proud that after a smooth start-up the new plant is operating as planned, for more than one year," said Grzegorz Semerjak, Technology Director at ORLEN Południe. The cooperation between Orlen Południe, BASF, Air Liquide Engineering & Construction significantly promotes our business philosophy with the BioPG technology and improves our value chain. The technical support by BASF and Air Liquide Engineering & Construction was outstanding. This really is a joint success."
“We are pleased to offer to our customers an innovative bio-based renewable solution that provides many environmental benefits and helps our customers move towards a low-carbon society," said Dominique Rouge, vice president, sales and technology at Air Liquide Engineering and Construction. "We were delighted to work with Orlen Poludnie on their project, to provide our expertise and a one-stop shop BioPG solution,”
“Our propylene glycol catalyst has been operating successfully at customers for over 10 years, and we are excited about a successful startup and operation of another commercial plant with Orlen Południe," said Detlef Ruff, senior vice president, process catalysts at BASF. "Thanks to the G2PG process, Orlen Południe has opened a completely new business area of bio products and further increased the value creation at its biodiesel plant. As BASF, we are proud to support this development with our innovative technology and catalyst, and to enable a more sustainable BioPG production."
