Vehicles circulating in the Vatican City will be able to run on low environmental impact biodiesel fuel produced by Italian energy giant Eni from recycled Vatican restaurant cooking oil, under an accord it signed on Thursday with the Holy See, Eni said in a statement.
Under the deal, Eni will produce for Vatican City State transport the high-quality biodiesel fuel (Eni Diesel+) - which cuts polluting emissions by up to 40 percent - at its biorefineries in Venice and in Gela, Sicily, the statement said.
Eni Diesel+ can also lower fuel consumption by up to 4 percent, the statement underlined, saying the initiative will create "a virtuous circular economy cycle".
Ater undergoing a purification and regeneration process, the cooking oil will be re-used to produce biofuels in the Eni biorefinery in Porto Marghera, Venice, the world’s first conventional refinery to be converted into a biorefinery using a proprietary Eni technology, said the statement.
The Gela biorefinery will be launched within the first quarter of 2019, after undergoing the same conversion, the statement added.
Lab tests have shown that the use of Eni Diesel especially reduces particular nitrogen oxides, primary and secondary particulates, notably ultrafine particles, the statement noted.
The high calorific value and the presence of a detergent additive also keeps the engine clean and reduces the need for maintenance, the statement said.
The agreement was signed by Mons. Fernando Vergez Alzaga, Secretary General of the Governorate of the Vatican City State and Giuseppe Ricci, Chief Refining and Marketing Officer of Eni.
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