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Biodiesel from fish waste in a collaboration project coordinated by Finnish VTT
25.11.2008
A pilot plant in Vietnam boosts the creation of new business
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and its partners have launched ENERFISH, a three-year project concerned with producing biodiesel from the waste generated at a fish processing plant. To ensure the viability and rapid commercialisation of the technology, the partners are constructing a biodiesel production plant next to the Vietnamese fish processing plant Hiep Thanh Seafood JSC.
The project team is also developing a cooling system based on the use of
carbon dioxide and a freezer system suitable for fish processing operations.
Energy savings of 20% can be achieved with a new kind of freezer system.
Coordinated by VTT, the project involves the cooperation of several Finnish
and Vietnamese SMEs. The majority of the project funding comes from the
European Union. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland is financing the
construction of the demonstration equipment in Vietnam.
”Using
waste from the fish processing industry as a renewable energy source can be
turned into a highly profitable business operation. The project partners aim
to generate significant business during the project lifetime,” says Aulis
Ranne, Senior Research Scientist at VTT. Project execution is based on
technology tested in a basic research process.
The
demonstration equipment at Hiep Thanh Seafood JSC will be built to ensure that
the equipment is functional and to guarantee a rapid time to market for the
new technology.
“We became interested in the project because
it is an opportunity for us to take into use latest technology, and to reduce
environmental hazards caused by the production”, says Mr Nguyen Van Phan,
President and General Manager of Hiep Thanh Seafood JSC. The company produces
120.000 kg of fish processing waste daily. At the moment it is sold for feed
industry.
Because Vietnam has a large number of fish
processing plants, the location is ideally suited for a pilot plant. There is
local need for decentralised energy production as well as state-of-the-art
cooling technology. The countries of South-East Asia and China are the global
hubs of fish processing.
In addition to generating ideas and
coordinating the project, VTT contributes to various research and
demonstration assignments aimed at optimising the plant integration and
developing its functions. The other organisations involved in the project are
TÜV Rheinland (Germany), Technofi (France), NEF - the National Energy
Foundation (UK), Hiep Thanh Seafood JSC (Vietnam), Preseco Oy (Finland),
Vahterus Oy (Finland), ECC - Energy Conservation Center for Hochiminh City
(Vietnam), RCEE Energy and Environment JSC (Vietnam) and AFI-Industry JSC
(Vietnam).
The idea for the ENERFISH project arose from the
global need to increase the use of renewable energy sources. Obtaining EU
funding for the project was facilitated by the EU policy promoting the sharing
of technology expertise with the developing countries and employing local
production resources. The total project budget is EUR 5 million, of which EU
funding accounts for approximately 60% and funding from the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs of Finland for approximately 10%. The ENERFISH project was
launched in October 2008 and it is scheduled for completion in 2011.
Further
information:
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Hidde
Ronde, Senior Research Scientist
tel. +358 20 722 5316
VTT
Technical Research Centre of Finland
Aulis
Ranne, Senior Research Scientist
Tel. +358 20 722 6424
Hiep
Thanh Seafood JSC
Mr Nguyen
Thanh Danh
puh. +84 935 386 838
www.hiepthanhgroup.com