The new biodiesel plant is the first to produce second-generation biodiesel based on Neste Oil’s proprietary NExBTL (Next Generation Biomass To Liquid) technology. NExBTL renewable diesel is a hydrocarbon and offers better product characteristics and engine performance than first-generation biodiesels, the company said.
According to Neste Oil, the new plant will be capable of producing 170,000 tons of NExBTL diesel fuel a year from a flexible mix of vegetable oil and animal fat. Production at the plant is due to begin in summer 2007.
Meanwhile, the new diesel line will improve the company’s overall refining margin significantly, as it will convert low-value heavy fuel oil into premium-quality diesel fuel. Output will total approximately one million tons of sulfur-free diesel a year.
The fact of the matter is that moving people and goods is an essential part of today’s world. Our duty as an oil company is to produce products that make traffic and transport as clean as human ingenuity and technological development allows, said Risto Rinne, Neste Oil’s president and CEO.
Mr Rinne also highlighted the need for a global governance approach to guarantee the future development of fuels, saying: It will be impossible to combat climate change or develop biofuels in an optimal way unless the world can achieve a sense of common purpose – or global governance – in this area.
