Research Projects

Bio-Oils’s R&D Department has worked in numerous research projects funded by CDTI and IDEA Agency of the Andalusian Government, among other research support agencies, and has collaborated with many other companies and with several of the Universities and Spanish Research Centers of greater prestige.

Some of the projects developed over these years are summarized below:

• REVALORA, project financed by CDTI in execution since May 2019. General objective of the project is the development and validation of a new processing technology to the production of high value-added biofuels, advanced and more sustainable, from several residual raw materials, maintaining compliance with the most demanding quality requirements, beyond EN14214.

• FLEXIWASTE, project financed by CDTI in execution since April 2019. It is a project in consortium with Cepsa and Clariant as a partner, leader companies in their sectors. General objective of the project is the development of a new refining process, purification and processing of residual fatty matter as raw material for advanced biofuels production, completely sustainable.

• BIOCOMP, project financed by CDTI in execution between 2017 and 2019. The objective of the project is the exploitation of high value-added phytonutrients present in crude palm oil. The project will allow the company to start a new business line by purifying and commercializing these new products, on applications as nutrition or cosmetics.

• Project Q+, executed between 2011 and 2012: “Development of a New Quality of Biodiesel to Increase its Use in Automotive Fuel”. The main objective of the project was to considerably increase the quality of biodiesel and also the efficiency of the plant, without incurring in higher production costs, by studying the product and critical quality parameters in biodiesel production, and its application for the development of new manufacturing processes. The project finished successfully in 2012.

• Project EMANA: The project, developed between 2010 and 2012, called “Study on alternative raw materials in animal nutrition” and financed by CDTI, covered the objective of evaluating the use of new and alternative raw materials as energy sources and proteins for animal feed: products derived from the manufacture of biofuels (glycerin, DDGS and lecithins), dairy co-products (lactic extruded cereals, mother liquor, whey and fatty acids) and extruded legumes and oilseeds (soybeans…). Bio-Oils participated in a national consortium formed by leading companies in the manufacture of animal feed such as Coren or Núter. As a result of the investigation carried out in this project, a research article was published jointly with the group of Dr. Gonzalo González Mateos of the Polytechnic University of Madrid (“Influence of source and level of glycerin in the diet on growth performance, liver characteristics, and Nutrient digestibility in broilers from hatching to 21 days of age “; Poultry Science; 2014 Nov; 93 (11): 2855-63, doi: 10.3382 / ps.2014-04156).

• Project ALGINCO: During 2009-2010, a strategic project was carried out to evaluate the application of microalgae biomass as an alternative raw material to the vegetable oils currently used in biodiesel production. The project was carried out in collaboration with Cepsa, the University of Cadiz and the University of Huelva. As a result of this research, a scientific article was published in collaboration with the group of Pr. Carlos Vílchez (“Lipid accumulation and antioxidant activity in the eukaryotic acidophilic microalgae Coccomyxa sp. (Strain onubensis) under nutrient starvation” Journal of Applied Phyology June 2015 , 27, 3, pp. 1109-1108) and a Congress Communication was presented in Biotec 2010 (“Productivity and Lipid Accumulation of a Novel Acidophile Microalgae”, 5th International Congress on Biotechnology).

• Project BIOSOST: developed between 2013-2015: “New Generation Sustainable Biodiesel”, whose objective was the introduction of new sustainable raw materials for the production of biodiesel. An exhaustive study was carried out, of new raw materials from the oleochemical industry, with no application in the food chain and/or waste materials, which can be revalued and converted into second generation biodiesel. The process developed within the framework of this investigation has been the subject of a Spanish patent (nº P 201600775).
  The project has been financed by the CDTI, supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and co-financed with Structural Funds of the European Union.

• Project YELLOWHORN: developed between 2012-2015: “Research for the Adaptation and Exploitation of Yellowhorn in Europe”. A cooperative project whose objective was the evaluation of the culture of Yellowhorn, a plant native to China, studying its use for cosmetic purposes and for the production of biodiesel because of its high fat content. The material remaining after the extraction of fat, has applications for the production of biogas or for animal feed.
  The project has been financed by the CDTI, supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and co-financed with Structural Funds of the European Union.

• Project CATALBIO: the project, financed by CDTI, started in January 2016. The objective of this project is to continue with the development of a novel technology able to process several raw materials into more sustainable advanced biodiesel, while maintaining the required high quality for the product, even stricter than the EN14214. The success of the project will allow BIO-OILS to obtain an advanced and sustainable biodiesel, both at the laboratory level and at the pilot level, through a novel method of esterification and transesterification in a single step.
  The project has been financed by the CDTI, supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and co-financed with Structural Funds of the European Union.

• Project PHI-MES, project in execution from November 2016. The objective of the project is the opening of new business opportunities for the company through the development of new products with different applications such as surfactants obtained from sustainable FAME or vegetable oils, covering an existing market demand for sustainable surfactants produced from biodegradable products that allow the substitution of those currently coming from petrol.
  The project has been financed by the CDTI, supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and co-financed with Structural Funds of the European Union.