Home / Facilities & Process
Our Plant &
Production Process
A 12,000-metric-ton-per-year plant at Km 26 on the Alexandria–Cairo desert road, run by more than 40 engineers, operators and support staff. Seven units in one continuous train — every one engineered by our technology partner, CARBON Engineering & Consultancy.
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Feedstock preparation
Used cooking oil and other residual oils are received, filtered to remove solids and pre-heated ahead of the reaction — the first step in turning a waste stream into a traceable, specification-grade input.
- Pre-heat
- ~60 °C
- Filtration
- F-101
- Feedstocks
- UCO · soapstock · fats
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Two-stage transesterification
Methanol and catalyst react with the oil across two reactors in series. R-101 converts the bulk to FAME and glycerol; R-102, with fresh methoxide, drives the equilibrium further than a single pass could.
- Temperature
- 55–60 °C
- Methanol : oil
- 6 : 1
- 4 seconds
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Gravity phase separation
The light FAME phase (≈ 880 kg/m³) floats on the heavy glycerol phase (≈ 1,260 kg/m³). Glycerol settles out and is drawn off; the FAME phase overflows to purification.
- Residence
- 30–60 min
- FAME phase
- 880 kg/m³
- Glycerol phase
- 1,260 kg/m³
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Centrifuge & water wash
Demineralised water dissolves potassium soaps and residual catalyst; a disc-stack centrifuge breaks the emulsions gravity cannot — protecting the distillation column from fouling.
- Bowl speed
- 5,000–7,000 rpm
- Force
- ~6,000 × g
- Wash water
- 5–10% v/v
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Methanol flash recovery
Under vacuum, unreacted methanol flashes off, is condensed and recycled to the reactors — cutting raw-material use and bringing the FAME to distillation-feed specification.
- Temperature
- 65–80 °C
- Pressure
- 0.15–0.3 bar
- Recovered
- 85–95% / stage
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Biodiesel distillation
A vacuum column separates the FAME distillate from colour bodies, trace water and heavy residues — the step that takes the product beyond EN 14214 rather than just to it.
- Vacuum
- 5–15 mbar
- Top / bottom
- 180–200 / 250–280 °C
- Colour
- < 3 Hazen
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Finished biodiesel — EN 14214
Every batch is sampled, tested in our lab — with independent analysis for export shipments — and logged under the ISCC EU mass-balance system before it leaves the plant Ex-Works Alexandria.
- Glycerol
- < 0.02%
- Water
- < 200 ppm
- Soap
- Not detectable
Every stream used
Nothing leaves the train as waste
Glycerol, soap, methanol and water are each removed in a dedicated unit — and each removed stream has a use. Methanol goes back to the reactors; soap and fatty acids go to a glycerolysis line that turns them into more certified product.
QHSE
Three pillars, one policy
Methanol handling, transesterification and vacuum distillation carry real process-safety risks. The plant runs on an integrated Quality, Health, Safety and Environment policy, built on three pillars.
EN 14214 · every batch
Quality
Documented process controls keep every batch within EN 14214 specification; each one is sampled and tested in our lab, with independent analysis for export shipments.
Methanol · chemicals · vacuum
Safety
Documented safe-work procedures, protective equipment and hazard controls for chemical handling, and safety training built into every role from plant floor to lab.
ISCC EU mass balance
Traceability
Every stage of the process is logged under our ISCC EU mass-balance system, so any shipment can be traced back to its feedstock origin.
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