Oleon pioneers with new green chemical plant in Flanders
Part of the French Avril Group, chemical company Oleon has opened an innovative oleochemical installation in Oelegem, Flanders. The project totals an investment of EUR 17.4 million, including EUR 13.3 million in European subsidies.
Doing more with less
The new Oleon installation in Oelegem will be used to produce oleochemicals. These are made from renewable materials, vegetable oils and animal fats and serve as raw materials for food and cosmetics, for example.
Thanks to a newly developed smart technology, the installation works on proteins of natural origin or enzymes. In addition, solvents are no longer involved in the production, while the working temperature during the process drops dramatically and product quality goes up.
This investment enables us to greatly reduce the carbon emissions from the production of enzymatic esters for the food and cosmetic sectors, among others, while producing much less waste. It's a real game changer.
Local test case for global impact
Olean developed the new smart technology used at the green chemical plant together with seven other companies, research organizations and academics – as part of the European research program INCITE.
The company considers the new Flanders-based installation a test case and intends to leverage its accumulated knowledge from the past and coming years for possible investments in its plants worldwide.
Reported by
newspaper De Tijd
