Vegetable oil refining

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Vegetable oil refining is a process to transform vegetable oil into fuel by hydrocracking or hydrogenation. Hydrocracking breaks big molecules into smaller ones using hydrogen while hydrogenation adds hydrogen to molecules. These methods can be used for production of gasoline, diesel, and propane. Produced diesel fuel is known as green diesel or renewable diesel.

Feedstock

The majority of plant and animal oils are vegetable oils which are triglycerides—suitable for refining. Refinery feedstock includes canola, algae, jatropha, salicornia and tallow.[citation needed] One type of algae, Botryococcus braunii produces a different type of oil, known as a triterpene, which is transformed into alkanes by a different process.[citation needed]

Comparison to biodiesel

Based on its feedstock green diesel could be classified as biodiesel; however, based on the processing technology and chemical formula green diesel and biodiesel are different products. The chemical reaction commonly used to produce biodiesel is known as transesterification. Vegetable oil and alcohol are reacted, producing esters, or biodiesel, and the coproduct, glycerol.[citation needed]

When refining vegetable oil, no glycerol is produced, only fuels. Refined diesel can be produced that is chemically identical to diesel fuel and does not have the problems specific to transesterified biodiesel. Any blending ratio can be used, and no modifications or checks are required for any diesel engine.[citation needed]

Commercialization

Some commercial examples of vegetable oil refining are NExBTL, H-Bio, the ConocoPhilips process, and the UOP/Eni Ecofining process.[1][2] Petrobras planned to use 256 megalitres (1,610,000 bbl) of vegetable oils in the production of H-Bio fuel in 2007. ConocoPhilips is processing 42,000 US gallons per day (1,000 bbl/d) of vegetable oil. Neste Oil completed their first NExBTL plant in the summer 2007 and the second one in 2009. The annual production capacity of each these two plants are 170,000 tons. [3] Two larger refineries with annual capacities of 800,000 tons are built in Rotterdam and Singapore.

Smaller scale refining can be carried out using technology from Renewable Fuel Products, Inc.[4]

Germany was expected to replace 3% of their diesel with fuel produced by refining vegetable oil by 2010. [5]

In December 2009, the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology received a $1M US grant from the United States government, in part to do research on green diesel, along with biodiesel and other bio fuel research for the United States Air Force.[6]

Green diesel was used to power at least one vehicle during a transportation showcase at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Green Car Congress: ConocoPhillips Begins Production of Renewable Diesel Fuel at Whitegate Refinery
  2. ↑ "UOP and Italy’s Eni S.p.A. announce plans for facility to produce diesel fuel from vegetable oil." (Press release). UOP LLC. June 19, 2007. http://www.uop.com/pr/releases/PR.EniEcofiningFacility.pdf. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  3. ↑ NExBTL diesel - Neste Oil
  4. ↑ "DIY Diesel - local visionaries design a mini fuel refinery with big possibilities." (Press release). Monterey County Weekly. November 12, 2009. http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/archives/2009/2009-Nov-12/local-visionaries-design-a-mini-fuel-refinery-with-big-possibilities/1/@@index. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  5. ↑ Biofuels News (Green Portal)
  6. ↑ "Senate Passes Defense Appropriations Bill". TMC.net. 22 December 2009. http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2009/12/22/4546167.htm. Retrieved 21 November 2011.

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