“The construction of the third refinery is in full swing and expected to be commissioned in October 2023,” Puraglobe CEO Andreas Schueppel told Lube Report. “Long-term supply contracts for all products have already been executed,” the company said in a press release.

Schueppel confirmed the company made a final investment decision on the third rerefinery but declined to disclose the price tag.

The third rerefinery is expected to increase Puraglobe’s total used motor oil processing capacity by 75,000 tons per year to 240,000 t/y. To secure the supply of necessary used oil feedstock for the third rerefinery, the company said it is expanding its own used motor oil collection in Germany and using a European network of suppliers.

According to the press release, the addition of the third rerefinery will increase the company’s Group III production capacity to 150,000 t/y. The company’s existing two rerefineries in Elsteraue have a total production capacity of 50,000 tons per year API Group II and 50,000 t/y Group III base oils. The Group III production was added in mid-2017 through an upgrade.

The third rerefinery, as do the company’s existing rerefineries, will use Honeywell UOP’s HyLube and HyLube SAT technology. Puraglobe is the exclusive worldwide licensee of the technologies. Byproducts are also used to manufacture sustainable chemical products and intermediates, such as ethylene, the company noted.

The company said the project helps to further implement its vision and mission, namely to advance the circular economy, while reducing generation of carbon dioxide, by reusing molecules and reducing the need to extract additional natural resources.

“It was Puraglobe’s long-lasting strategy to develop and finally introduce Group III and III+ base oils for the automotive and industrial market based on used oil,” he said. “As we all know, the world today has changed a lot, and even bigger companies are now open to look for products that coincide with the market demands of highest qualities and on reduced carbon footprint offerings.” Global parent company Puraglobe Inc. is based in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Its 100 percent-owned subsidiary for Europe is Elsteraue, Germany-headquartered Puraglobe Holding GmbH, which serves as parent of all the company’s European activities.