Improvements Being Made on 2nd Gen Biodiesel

Finland's Neste Oil 2nd generation biodiesel, NexBTL is being improved by more new catalysts that allow for better yields and more efficiency.

Neste Oil’s refinery-based proprietary NExBTL technology is based on the high-pressure hydrogenation of fatty acids. The product is a synthetic diesel fuel, free of oxygen and aromatic compounds. Side products include propane and gasoline. (Earlier post.) Neste Oil and Albemarle have worked together for several years to develop the catalysts for the NExBTL renewable diesel process. Albemarle’s multi-year order with Neste includes scheduled deliveries of the catalysts for 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Neste Oil currently operates one NExBTL plant in Porvoo, Finland, with a second NExBTL diesel plant under construction in Porvoo. Neste Oil is also currently building world-scale NExBTL plants in Singapore and Rotterdam, and has plans for further growth of NExBTL renewable diesel business. _GCC

Several thermochemical biofuels processes use high pressure hydrogenation to convert a product of biomass or bio-oils into high quality hydrocarbon fuels. Often it is the quality and cost of the catalysts that makes or breaks an industrial chemical process.