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Biofabrik Technologies and Kaltimex Energy have teamed up once more! After achieving several milestones with the company, we had the pleasure of interviewing Purnima Ralhan — Director of Sustainability at Kaltimex Energy (Singapore) PTE Limited — about introducing the WASTX Oil technology in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
A post by Alice Frassin
Kaltimex Energy PTE Limited started its journey in 1996 and has provided decentral energy solutions in South and Southeast Asia for over 26 years. With climate change being one of our most significant environmental emergencies, the company started focusing more on green technologies for biomass, biogas, and problematic waste management.
After learning about our recycling technologies in August 2020, the Kaltimex Group became our official distributor, today representing us in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Malaysia, while collaborating on other environmental projects.
During our conversation with Purnima, we learned that despite environmental regulations, government-approved oil collectors struggle with adequate recycling methods for large quantities of waste oil generated by different regional industries.
The lack of cost-effective recycling technologies represents challenges such as incorrect waste oil disposal. Air pollution, endangering human beings and wildlife, contaminating water and soil (PCWS Waste Service Solutions, 2017), and contributing to the overall increase of carbon dioxide emissions are impacted.
Graphic 1 shows Asian countries reported more than 2000Mt CO2 emissions in 2019 (almost 30Mt per capita), increasing by 12,5% since 2018. In the same year, Indonesia was one of the world’s top emitters, accounting for 1,48 Gt CO2 emissions alone (Climate Watch Data, 2018-2019).
How Waste Oil Becomes Opportunity: The WASTX Oil GO2000+
Even though Kaltimex did not have many years of experience in the oil industry, they recognized an urgent need for action and potential collaboration. Hence, Kaltimex’s motivation to work with our WASTX Oil technology.
“The prospect of recycling oil to support import substitution was enticing. […] There are many benefits if significant residues can be recovered, recycled, and reused. Aside from the economic benefits of import substitution, employment can be generated along the transport, storage, and disposal supply chains. Additionally, environmental protection is enhanced, and there is less to go into landfills, lowering water pollution and improving public health.”
— Purnima Ralhan, Director of Sustainability at Kaltimex Energy
The ultimate goal of the energy pioneer is to promote a sustainable circular economy by mitigating the environmental impact of the produced waste, reducing fossil fuel raw material depletion, and turning waste oils into profitable feedstock.
Applying our WASTX Oil GO2000+ to the current waste management practices represents a great solution to using resources effectively in South and Southeast Asia. Nevertheless, it might be a challenging task. The current mineral oil-based waste collection system is immature, lacks budget and infrastructure. In the same way, there is a strong inadequacy of public awareness (Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2019).
According to Purnima, there is also a considerable risk of rejecting sustainable alternatives, therefore educating the region on the topic is the first step up the ladder. Collecting and storing waste oil appropriately is then essential to check processing potential. As a final step, a secured offtake agreement suiting the region’s needs and target customers will be a strong facilitator for the sale of recycled oils.
Nonetheless, she explained that they accepted the challenge:
The after-sales service we provide and the reputation of WASTX Oil becoming a reliable technology will overcome the potential hurdles. […] We are excited and motivated to make the waste oil industry sustainable, environmentally conscious, and profitable in our region.
