Egypt, Energy 3 sign MoU to produce biofuel, graphene from waste

CAIRO – 16 May 2022: Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli attended Sunday the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Energy 3 to build a waste recycling station that produces biofuel and graphene at Fayoum governorate.

Minister of Environment Yasmin Fouad stated Sunday that the Global Environment Facility had granted Egypt $8 million to localize electronic and medical waste recycling technology.

The Global Environment Facility had equally granted Egypt $8.1 million to carry out the Sustainable Management of Persistent Organic Pollutants (PoPs) Project.

The project, also funded by the World Bank Group's Pollution Management and Environmental Health Trust Fund (PMEH) with $750,000, helped the country get rid of 1,000 tons of each of toxic pesticides, and oils contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

The total cost of the project is $23 million, mostly provided by a number of Egyptian ministries, given its positive impact on 1.4 million citizens directly, and 3.1 million indirectly.

Minister Fouad explained, during a ceremony held to celebrate the conclusion of the project, that samples of different pesticides were collected from many governorates designating those comprising toxins. Then, studies were carried out to examine the possibility of disposing of them through large cement factories, which was actually done later. 

As for the oils contaminated with PCBs, which came from electricity transmission plants, they were detoxified and recycled, which has achieved a great economic return, given their high prices.

The minister clarified that scientific studies were conducted, after inspecting 13,000 electricity transmission plants nationwide, leading up to a decision to import two PCBs detoxification units. 

Minister Fouad highlighted that the imported units are the most recent in the market as they have the ability to detoxify the oils without the need to shut down the transmission plants. They can also get rid of other types of toxins, and enjoy high degrees of safety.

The environment minister similarly showcased that one of the big projects that are still underway is the improvement of air quality in Greater Cairo. More importantly, the ministry declared last week that the National Strategy for Climate Change addressing 17 aspects would be launched in a few days.