Ecoslops Opens 'Slops' Processing Refinery
Ecoslops, the first company to develop technology to produce recycled marine fuels from marine oil residues (‘slops’), has announced that its refinery in the Port of Sinès, Portugal, has commenced industrial production and delivered the first volume of marine fuel products compliant with ISO8217, validating the company’s commercial proposition.
Ecoslops has also made two senior appointments, further developing its global infrastructure, including new facilities, in order to meet its ambitious growth objectives.
In Q3 2015, 3,200 tonnes of slops were imported from Northern Europe, in conjunction with slops collected in the Port, mainly at the oil terminal and from MSC, the leading global container shipping company. 1,400 tonnes of fuel products have subsequently been produced for the marine market, comprising distillates (MDO) and heavy fuel oil (IFO); and light bitumen for the roofing and isolation markets. This development validates the company’s value proposition, with 98% of slops being recycled for commercial use.
“This is a landmark moment for Ecoslops, as we prove the commercial and sustainable viability of creating marine fuel products from slops,” said Vincent Favier, CEO, Ecoslops.
“In the current climate, waste collectors are finding it increasingly difficult to sell unprocessed slops and many ports do not have sufficient collection or storage infrastructure. For ship owners and operators, it is highly cost-effective, efficient and sustainable to be able to take a waste product, for which the disposal is strictly regulated, and turn it into a reusable marine fuel. Our focus now is on accelerating production at the Port of Sinès by collecting more slops locally and through import, as well as further developing our global infrastructure to capitalise on the opportunities within the global slops market.”
As part of this development, Ecoslops has strengthened its senior team with the appointments of Pascal Bonfils as Group Industrial Director and Pedro Simões as General Manager of the company’s Portuguese subsidiary in Sinès. Both have substantial experience of working in the energy, industrial and petrochemical markets and will play important roles in the ongoing development of the company. In conjunction with this, Ecoslops is also continuing its work in developing its facilities in the Ivory Coast, as well as looking at other opportunities in the Mediterranean and the North of Europe. This follows the company’s ambition to bring on line three more facilities by 2017.
Ecoslops has developed an innovative technology to recycle marine hydrocarbon waste, founded on a combination of processes, technologies and in-depth refining knowledge from the petrochemical sector. The company collects slops from waste collectors and ports, as well as directly from ship owners and operators. The hydrocarbons are then pre-treated by decantation and centrifugation before being processed into a vacuum distillation column and recycled into marine fuels and light bitumen. The water produced is decontaminated in a treatment plant before being returned to the natural environment. Ecoslops’ treatment unit in the Port of Sinès has the capacity to produce 30,000 tonnes of recycled fuel every year.
