Biodiesel - BIOPA - Pardubice

BIOPA is:

the free working association for:

1. Research, development and industrial realisation of technological methods of production of fatty acids methyl esters from vegetable oils, above all from rape seed oil (MERO), as renewable and ecological fuel for diesel engines. Immediately after its origin BIOPA determined itself following requirements: - Transfer of maximum energy included in the processed vegetable oil into MERO. - Absence of technological waste water. - Full automatization of the production unit.
2. Research, development and technological realisation of the equipment for processing of the most important coproduct from the MERO production - so called glycerol phase or layer.

The main sense of the production of MERO is the substitution of the fossil diesel fuel. But MERO can never substitute fully the fossil diesel, because there will be never at disposal so much vegetable oils to cover the world consumption of the fossil diesel as the energy source. The present estimations of the magnitude of the possible replacement of fossil diesel by MERO fluctuate between 1 to 10%. However, MERO has a number of ecological adventages:
    - Renewability
    - Full and relative fast biological degradation
    - Combustion of MERO does not increse the carbon dioxide (hot-house) effect
    - Smaller emission of harmful combustion rests etc.

Besides this the MERO production has also economical effects:
    - The use of lands and fields for non-grocery purpose and so also saving the style of the country.
    - New work opportunities.
    - Production of several coproducts - above all glycerol and seed cake as feeder.
    - Partial absorption of intense and permanent grow of the price of fossil diesel.
    - In the last time the politics of state grants for the MERO producers makes its production very interesting not only ecologically but also economically. The production price of MERO is higher as the price of fossil diesel and its production is unprofitable without the support of the state.

The glycerol phase (GP) is the most important coproduct of all technologies of MERO production in the Czech Republic. At present time for the MERO producers GP is a waste which is sold for the next treatment under economically very disadvantageous conditions. At the same time, GP includes (with respect to the technology of MERO production) 40 - 80 % of glycerol, which is, as a pure substance, much more valuable than that bounded in GP.