Intervew
César Henriques
-doctorate degree in Chemistry from the University of Coimbra, with a strong knowledge in the area of chemical catalysis and organic synthesis. He is the author of 16 publications in peer-reviewed journals, 1 national patent and 28 communications at congresses. He has extensive experience in project leadership, being responsible for managing the research and development project “EcoX, Recycling of dietary fats through Green Chemistry”. It is since 2018, the CEO of EcoX
Introduction
Good afternoon...
Hello, we are 4 students of the 5th year of EB23 ílhavo, Portugal.
We are students concerned about the environment!
We are within a project (exchange) with a Turkey college (Istanbul) .
We'd like to ask you a few questions!
Maria Vale
1 - I would like to know what’s your background and if it is related to what you do?
I have a degree in Chemistry, a master's and a PhD degree in the field of Industrial Processing and Green Chemistry.
Maria Vale
2 - At the moment, where do you work?
ECOX is currently based in Coimbra.
Maria Vale
3 - How do you recycle the oil?
Oil recycling is an enzymatic process. Through an enzyme, the oil is decomposed and transformed into soap, thus allowing ECOX to produce the products.
Maria Vale
4 - What do you think is the future of the planet?
If we continue to use the planet as we have used so far, the future won't be very good! but right now, there is more awareness and everyone plays an important role to create a better planet.
João Campolargo
1-Why and how the idea of using used cooking oil was born?
A little long story… I was a researcher before I was in the ecox project. one day I was in the laboratory doing my research in the area of sustainability. I heard a news on the radio about someone who made soaps from olive oil, but how expensive it was. I went looking for an alternative that was a residue that we could value in something different. Oil appeared as a potential raw material. And from then on, I started looking again to investigate the oil recovery part.
The importance is quite big and there are several factors that are on the table, like the environmental, economic and the impact they have on the environment.
First, it is due to the environmental impact.
1 Liter of oil contaminates 1 million liters of water - it is too much water for one liter of oil.
Oil does not mix with water and causes:
- Block plumbing at home
-Stop plumbing in the public network
-Increases treatment costs of WWTP's by 40%
João Campolargo
2 - What is the importance of reusing used cooking oil?
On the other hand, many water treatment plants are unable to respond for example on rainy days, or are unable to treat all the oil. this untreated water is returned to rivers and lakes.
when it arrives in rivers and lakes, the untreated polluted water will have an upper layer of oil which means that sunlight and oxygen do not enter. the little fishes, the fauna and flora, everything ends up dying . It calls into question the entire chain.
We transform this oil into biodegradable products that have no impact when disposed of in the environment. So the impact is much smaller when compared to more chemical and more aggressive products.
Then comes the manufacturing process that when using a waste such as oil as a raw material, we do not need to use virgin raw materials, such as oil, and cut trees, as we do not need other sources for its production.
João Campolargo
3 - How do you mix oil with water?
The oil does not mix with the water as soon as we do it. we decompose the oil in molecules that have the capacity of two things:
-1st -have the ability to clean grease, dirt
- 2nd -they are soluble in water, so when they are soluble in water it is easy to decompose them.
Rodrigo Pascoal
1- What do you like the most in this project?
... look, in this project every day is different and we do a lot of different things, ranging from accounting, to production, to development, and sometimes even filling up recipients and posting orders when required, having meeting with potential clients, with current clients, solving problems. There isn’t just one thing in specific which I like to do, there is however one thing I like to do in general and that is to make things happen making things possible and I think that is what I most like to do. Solve problems and make things happen.
Rodrigo Pascoal
2- What inspired you to start this project?
-I don’t know what, there was that matter about the oil itself but I think it has a lot to do with your spirit and with the entrepreneur spirit. I always wanted to have a company, to manage a company. I like to work with people, to lead people and to get people involved in good causes. I think it always had to do with me, actually, when I was about your age CDs were quite common and I bought a CD recorder for my computer, I recorded and sold CDs. Ok, so that entrepreneurship spirit was already a bit with me, there isn’t just something that happens, I think it has to do with the way I am and nothing else.
Rodrigo Pascoal
3- What normally happens with the oil?
-So, normally the oil is collected, that is, there are already collection points in the public areas, there are collection points at some supermarkets and restaurants are required to collect and send them for recycling. That already happens. What we want is for that to happen more often and for there to be less dumping into the sewer system, which causes the problems I already mentioned. That's it, we also have work which is very focussed on sensibilization, the educative part, because we really want, and it’s part of our mission to make that increase of value, the recycling, the collection, and basically the oil has four domains of application, it is used a lot in those four areas. One of them is biodiesel, used cooking oil is converted to biodiesel and incorporated into the diesel that your parents use on their cars, also to make solid soaps, such as the blue soap and such, to make candles, there is a lot of use in candles, and there is a new line of products which are the detergents, a very broad line of detergents. It’s basically these, we also know that more electric vehicles are being adopted and about 99% of the recycled oil goes to biodiesel, so there is a need to find viable alternative uses and I think the matter of detergents is clearly a winning application, for the present and the future, and we want to massify it.
Rodrigo Pascoal
4- Where are the chemical products manufactured??
-The chemical products are manufactured in Vagos, near you, at the Mistolin factory.
Rita Fernandes
1- Does the collection of oils reward at a financial level?
- Yes, it obviously pays off, there is a logistical project needed for this collection,
but it pays off, because even with the collection of oils we can have competitive products in the market.
Rita Fernandes
2- When you were little, did you already have this concern about pollution?
- No, it was something that was gained over time and also by training and Consciousness. "No one is born taught", in fact I still don’t do everything i want to do for the Planet...
Rita Fernandes
3- Is ECOX thinking about doing more projects to reduce pollution?
- Yes, ECOX has several projects including valuing other types of waste and transform oil into other types of products... we are attentive but obviously that now our focus is on detergents. but we are expanding and seeking to diversify both the raw material use, such as the products they get.
Rita Fernandes
4- What is the circular economy?
- The circular economy is part of the very interesting principle that "waste is not a residue", which can be a raw material, i.e. instead of taking a bottle and put in the trash, we think what is it i can still do with this bottle, i can grind it, but then it's more of a chemical process, but before I grind it I can still wash it, go seek detergent in it, use to use in my plants ..., basically the economy "Look at the trash as a raw material" the garbage can be re-inserted into the chain reused, reused, reused, reused, before being put away.
Thank you for your collaboration
www.ecox.pt
Clube de Fotografia Students 5ºE
SCHOOL EB 3 JOSÉ FERREIRA PINTO BASTO
work done by
The Guardians of the planet🌏
João Campolargo, Maria Vale, Rita Fernandes e Rodrigo Pascoal