In Gornja Mutnica, near Paracin, on about 315 hectares of plantations of the Serbian-Belgian company Sanicula, Mediterranean crops such as immortelle, lavender, lemon balm, thyme and heather for the production of essential oils are organically grown, and the production of biopellets, the first of its kind in Serbia, has begun, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) announced today.
The company, which employs about 200 families from the surrounding villages, has designed to produce biopellets from waste, ie biomass, which is generated after the distillation of plants into essential oils.
The technology of biopellet production from aromatic plant residues is very similar to the production of wood pellets, and this plant near Paracin is the first of its kind in Serbia.
“The growth of the company, the constant increase in the area of plantations and the parallel search for clean and cheap energy have led us to start experimenting with biomass. After the first analyzes that showed that our biopellet has a high caloric value, everything started to agree,” said the founder and owner of the company, Novica Sutic.
He stated that Sanikula uses biopellets as an energy source in its distillation and drying plant, and the ash that remains after its combustion as organic fertilizer on plantations.
By applying this circular approach, the production of essential oils does not create waste, and economic development does not endanger the environment.
“Our plan is for the annual production to reach the level of 3,000 tons of biopellets by 2023. In terms of potential for energy production, that is equivalent to the amount of 700 tons of hard coal and 200 tons of diesel fuel,” said Sutic.
As it was pointed out, the use of biopellets has the effect of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which mitigates the consequences of climate change.
Currently, plants from the Sanicule field absorb 10 times more carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere than this company emits for the production of essential oils.
“An innovative approach to the production of pellets from biomass produced by the processing of medicinal plants”, the company Sanicula, was awarded as one of the five best innovative and climate-smart solutions within the project “Local development resistant to climate change”, implemented by UNDP in partnership, with the financial support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
The realization of this solution will contribute to the affirmation of business according to the principles of sustainable development, through the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the application of the concept of “zero waste”, which seeks to completely eliminate waste from the production process.
It is estimated that the project will reduce emissions by 20,000 tons of CO2, Danas reports.
