Ethanol from food waste

The energy company St1 will start producing its own ethanol in Finland. A new process will be used to produce the ethanol from the waste created by the Finnish food industry at the place where the waste is generated. Production will be profitable even on a small scale.

Production will be based on a process developed by VTT which, when combined with the logistics and usage of fuel transportation, will reduce the detrimental effects on the environment. At the same time it will offer a new solution for dealing with the food industry's waste, reducing its volume considerably.

In the background to the start-up of ethanol production lies the desire to speed up the use of renewable forms of energy. St1's ethanol production will correspond to about two per cent of the total amount of fuel sold in Finland.

"That alone reaches more than half the targets outlined for the use of biofuel components by the Ministry of Trade and Industry," states Juha Kokko, St1's managing director.

St Biofuels Oy, a joint venture company owned by St1 and VTT, is at present preparing for the start of the ethanol production. The intention is to introduce the first production plants at the end of this year.

"Because of the prospects of an increase in the world market prices of ethanol and the waste-processing costs, utilization of the unique production concept is of interest abroad. There is particular interest in countries where the population and the consequent amount of waste generated are large," says Antti Pasanen, the managing director of St1 Biofuels and developer of the method.

>> www.st1.fi
>> www.vtt.fi

Innovation award for biodiesel

Biodiesel technology developed by Neste Oil Corporation has won the Chemical Industry Federation of Finland's innovation award for 2006. It was made for Neste Oil's process that can be used for the production of high-quality biodiesel fuel from vegetable oil and animal fat.

Neste Oil's technology uses innovative chemistry and industrial process sidestreams effectively. The product can be used as such in existing vehicles or blended with current fuels. The high-quality biodiesel fuel also reduces particulate and NOx emissions in vehicle exhausts.

Neste Oil is responding to the European Union's target for technology, according to which biofuel will cover 5.75 per cent of the consumption of transport fuels in the region by 2010.

The first plant based on the new NExBTL production technology will be completed at the Porvoo refinery in the summer of 2007. As yet, no competitor to Neste Oil's unique innovation lies on the horizon.

The Chemical Industry Innovation Award is granted every other year in recognition of major innovations that can be applied industrially. The award includes a prize sum of 20,000 euros.

>> www.chemind.fi
>> www.nesteoil.fi

Neste to build biodiesel plant in Austria

Neste Oil Corporation and the Austrian oil and gas group OMV have drawn up a memorandum of understanding for building a plant to produce next-generation biodiesel fuel. The plant will be located at OMV's Schwechat oil refinery.

The plant, which will be based on Neste Oil's new biotechnology, is due to start up at the end of 2008 at the earliest. At full capacity it will be producing 200,000 tonnes of biodiesel annually.

Jyrki Ignatius, the Neste Oil manager responsible for biofuels, says that there is demand for the bioprocess developed by the company. There are several projects under development that are similar to the cooperation with OMV.

Finnish properties create interest

The interest of foreign property investors in Finland does not appear to be waning, according to the latest Finnish Property barometer made by KTI Property Information Ltd. The questionnaire was answered by 30 foreign investors who own Finnish properties valued at well over two billion euros.

Of the respondents 86% indicated that they would probably be making new investments in Finland during the coming year. The respondents' aim is to try to invest almost 3.4 billion euros in Finnish property during the next year.

According to international investors, Finland is still one of the most attractive property markets in Europe in terms of yield. Investors appreciate the clearly defined regulation environment, the conditions on the financial markets and the markets' transparency.

This was now the fourth time that a Finnish Property Barometer survey has charted the market views and future plans of international and Finnish property investors.

>> www.kti.fi

Giant order for Outokumpu

Outokumpu Technology, which is part of the metals company Outokumpu, has received the biggest order in its history. It will be delivering a sulphuric acid plant complex costing 190 million euros to Saudi Arabia. The order will raise the company's volume of orders in hand to an all-time high.

According to Seppo Rantakari, Executive Vice President -
Business Development and Venturing, Outokumpu's skill in delivering large-scale plants in difficult conditions was decisive in obtaining the order. The transaction strengthened Outokumpu Technology's market leadership in the technology for producing sulphuric acid. The company has over 80 years' experience in planning and building sulphuric acid plants and more than 600 plants for reference in various parts of the world.

The world's biggest sulphuric plant complex is being ordered by the Saudi Arabian mining company Ma´den, which uses sulphuric acid for the production of fertilizer. The complex, which will consist of three plants, will be constructed at Ras al-Zour in the eastern part of the country and will start up in 2009.

>> www.outokumpu.com

Neste Oil Corporation has developed technology that can be used for the production of high-quality biodiesel fuel from vegetable oil and animal fat.
Photo: Juha Rahkonen