From oil to biofuel

By Simon Hunter

average of 20%.

But that is set to change as a new rail service between Al- geciras and Zaragoza is put into action.

The public-private project will see a 1,074-kilometre route operating between the city in Cadiz province, which is home to the country’s main port, and the capital of Aragon, which is set to become a national hub for logistics.

At the moment, the vast majority of goods arriving in Algeciras are hauled away by lorries. The new rail link will take 48,000 lorries off the roads annually on the routes north from the Andalucian port.

This is expected to dramatically decrease pollution: the forecast is a reduction of 9,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

TRADE: Algeciras is Spain’s main port

The plan is for three services to run daily in each direction. Each train will have capacity for 30 wagons, which will be loaded with shipping containers.

The Spanish Cabinet has authorised contracts worth €45.5 million to refurbish signage on two new routes of the conventional rail network, to prepare them for this new train highway. The lines between Ariza and Calatayud, and Guadalajara and Ariza, will be the first to get a spruce up. The total investment for the project is expected to run to €85 million.

AN old oil refinery in Huelva, which has been converted to produce biofuels, is capable of reducing CO2 emissions by 90%.

Cepsa says that the upgraded facility is now able to produce a sustainable diesel fuel, called hydrobiodiesel, from vegetable oil, vegetable waste and animal fats not intended for human consumption (sandach). The plant was originally made to remove sulphur from mineral oil.