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Hydrogenation-Derived Renewable Diesel Production

Hydrogenation-derived renewable diesel (HDRD) is produced by refining fats or vegetable oils—alone or blended with petroleum—in an oil refinery. This typically involves hydrogenation of triglycerides using existing refinery infrastructure. Gasoline can be produced using a similar refining process, but this process is in an earlier stage of development. A number of manufacturers around the world are developing HDRD refining processes and testing them in commercial trials. Following are brief descriptions of some of the projects.

ConocoPhillips (United States, Ireland)

ConocoPhillips is producing HDRD at its Whitegate refinery in Cork, Ireland. The primary renewable feedstock is soybean oil, but other vegetable oils and animal fats and oils could be used as well. The HDRD is being produced using existing refinery equipment and is blended and transported with petroleum-based diesel. Initial production is 1,000 barrels per day. ConocoPhillips is also partnering with Tyson Foods to produce HDRD using animal fat, beginning in 2007 and ramping up to as much as 11,000 barrels per day by 2009.

Neste Oil (Finland)

Neste Oil is producing HDRD using its NExBTL process, beginning in 2007. A second plant is scheduled to come online in 2008, for a total production capacity of 340,000 metric tons per year.

Petrobras (Brazil)

Brazilian oil company Petrobras developed the H-BIO process, which produces HDRD using hydrotreating units in existing oil refineries. Petrobras is planning to use the H-BIO process in three of its refineries by 2007 and two more by 2008, with a total vegetable oil consumption of more than 7,000 barrels per day.

Syntroleum (United States)

Syntroleum formed a joint venture with Tyson Foods to produce HDRD and jet fuel using its Biofining process. Production from its first plant is scheduled to come online in 2010 at a rate of about 5,000 barrels of synthetic fuel per day.

UOP-Eni (United States, Italy)

The first "Ecofining" facility developed by UOP and Italian oil and gas company Eni is scheduled to come online in 2009, processing 6,500 barrels per day of vegetable oils. The U.S. Department of Energy has supported UOP's Renewable Energy and Chemicals unit in developing HDRD production technologies.

For HDRD-related news, see the Green Car Congress Biomass page and the Biopact Web site.