Egypt recycles 2M tons of rice straw, produces fertilizers

CAIRO – 2 November 2020: The Agricultural Guidance Sector at the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation released a report Monday indicating that 2,046,721 tons of rice straw have been collected and recycled without indicating the period over which that has been achieved.

The ministry had established 731 sites - located in six governorates - where the straw is piled up.

Until present, 851,796 tons have been pressed, and 538,731 tons were minced. The number of fertilizer piles produced is 749.

The report shows that 1,827 seminars have been held to raise the awareness of farmers on the dangers of burning rice straw, and agricultural waste, particularly those of summer crops. The seminars also promoted ideas on how those can be turned into products generating income for farmers.

In February, the Egyptian Wood Technology Company (WOTECH) signed an agreement with Petrojet Company to establish a project for the production of medium-density fibreboard (MDF) in Beheira Governorate.

In addition to Petrojet, which is the general contractor of the project, WOTECH signed another agreement with the German Siempelkamp Company -the technology supplier of the project.

The signing took place during the third day of the Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS 2020).

The new project includes a factory for the production of medium-density fibreboard (MDF) by rice straw with a production capacity of 205,000 square meters annually according to the latest European specifications with the usage of Siempelkamp’s technology in manufacturing.

The project thus provides a high-quality local product that is used and needed by many industries and areas such as furniture, building materials and decoration.

The project will be established with a full Egyptian capital from the oil sector, and the shareholders include the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company, the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, SIDPEC and Petrojet.

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek el-Molla explained that the project, whose cost is estimated at €210 million, is also one of the effective solutions implemented by the Ministry of Petroleum to support the state's efforts to transform rice straw from an environmental challenge into an opportunity for economic exploitation and an added value.

“The project is one of the most important projects that the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources aims to implement within its plan to expand the petrochemical industry, which aims to establish new projects that contribute to providing raw materials and major production inputs for many industries on the local market,” Molla added.