Unique factory to process used oils in Belarus

A unique enterprise will be established in Belarus to process used oils. The information was released by Dmitry Cherikover, managing partner of the company IOOO DVCh Management, at the roundtable session held on 19 February to discuss waste processing, BelTA has learned.

The first stage of the enterprise with the processing capacity of 10,000 tonnes of used oils per annum will be opened in the town of Krupki this year. Two more stages are supposed to be built after that to raise the processing capacity up to 30,000 tonnes.

Dmitry Cherikover underlined that the company he represents boasts extensive experience of recycling used oil products and operates several similar enterprises abroad. Belarus has been chosen for the investment project because, the businessman believes, it offers good conditions. “We have received serious support from the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry and the Belarus government as a whole. We have signed an investment contract with the Ministry. The right steps to enhance the legal base are made in the country,” he remarked. Apart from that, Belarus is attractive from the logistics point of view because it is part of the Customs Union and borders on the European Union at the same time.

According to the source, the future enterprise will be unique in the ex-USSR area. “We have decided to invest the entire bulk of our cutting-edge knowledge and technologies in here, the best specialists of our mother concern have arrived to work here upon the invitation of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry,” explained Dmitry Cherikover.

The enterprise occupies 14ha and is located near the M1 motorway close to a railroad not far from Minsk. It is a significant project for the region because the enterprise has already created 30 jobs and will gradually increase the number up to 100. About $9 million has already been invested in the enterprise, primarily in the infrastructure. The construction of the other two stages will raise the investments to about $15 million. The company is ready to invest another $20 million in the processing of used chemicals, vegetable and animal oils and other kinds of waste that contain hydrocarbons such as plastics, rubber and so on. A facility with this size and infrastructure can grow rapidly, noted the businessman.

Speaking about details of the project for processing used oils, Dmitry Cherikover said that the key purpose is to recycle petroleum and synthetic oils, which have been polluted and are no longer fit to serve their initial purpose or have lost their qualities due to other reasons. Two daughter enterprises have been set up already. One takes care of collecting and transporting the waste while the other one focuses on processing it. The equipment is in the tuning phase. It will reach its designed capacity within a month or two. Unique multiple-section vehicles have been bought to deliver used oils to the processing site without any environmental damage or the possibility of an explosion. A chain of outlets is being deployed to collect secondary resources, with special tanks being installed. As a result of the recycling process 75% of the final product will be able to substitute expensive petroleum imports.

Dmitry Cherikover underlined that one should not forget about the environmental value of the project. The data collected during the market research phase indicates that an overwhelming majority of used oils in Belarus are just thrown away or are burnt, resulting in potent cancer-producing substances.