News – OLEON: Update on the demonstation plant construction in Oelegem production site

INCITE is aiming to accelerate a transition to a more flexible and sustainable chemistry by taking novel integrated upstream and downstream processing. The project involves flow chemistry and membrane technology in two chemo-enzymatic demonstration cases at an industrial level: an oleochemical demo plant lead by Oleon (Belgium) and an agrochemical demo plant lead by Endura (Italy).

Oleon, coordinator of the INCITE project and in charge of the Oleochemical track of the project, has been carrying out clearance work in one of his production sites sited in Oelegem (Antwerp area, Belgium). In order to make room for the new reactor location a thorough site clearance was needed. For the site clearance, a lot of old items needed to be removed such as redundant equipment, steel structures, concrete floors, vessels etc.

After this step was completed, the removal of the patched-up window openings and concrete floors inside the building could be initiated. When the concrete was removed, as a final step the remaining steel structure could be stripped. Next to this major undertaking, also an old control room was given a second life.

All these steps show that we are on the right path!