Neste Renewable Diesel
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Neste MY Renewable Diesel (formerly NExBTL) is a vegetable oil refining fuel production process commercialized by the Finnish oil and refining company
Neste Neste Oyj (international name: Neste Corporation; former names Neste Oil Corporation and Fortum Oil and Gas Oy; ) is an oil refining and marketing company located in Espoo, Finland. It produces, refines and markets oil products, provides eng ...
. Whether as an admixture or in its pure form, the fuel is able to supplement or partially replace conventional diesel without problems. Neste guarantees that every gallon sold meets ASTM D975 and EN 15940 specifications in compliance with OEM standards. Despite the former name BTL, the feedstock is
vegetable oil Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of edible plants. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed ...
and waste animal fats, not whole plants. However, fuel quality is equal to the synthetic Fischer-Tropsch BTL and GTL diesel fuels.


Process

Neste Renewable Diesel is produced in a patented vegetable oil refining process. Chemically, it entails direct catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (
hydrogenolysis Hydrogenolysis is a chemical reaction whereby a carbon–carbon or carbon–heteroatom single bond is cleaved or undergoes lysis (breakdown) by hydrogen.Ralph Connor, Homer Adkins. Hydrogenolysis Of Oxygenated Organic Compounds. J. Am. Chem. Soc. ...
) of plant oils, which are
triglyceride A triglyceride (from '' tri-'' and '' glyceride''; also TG, triacylglycerol, TAG, or triacylglyceride) is an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids. Triglycerides are the main constituents of body fat in humans and other vertebrates ...
s, into the corresponding
alkane In organic chemistry, an alkane, or paraffin (a historical trivial name that also has other meanings), is an acyclic saturated hydrocarbon. In other words, an alkane consists of hydrogen and carbon atoms arranged in a tree structure in whi ...
s and
propane Propane () is a three-carbon chain alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but becomes liquid when compressed for transportation and storage. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum ref ...
. The glycerol chain of the triglyceride is hydrogenated to the corresponding C3 alkane,
propane Propane () is a three-carbon chain alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but becomes liquid when compressed for transportation and storage. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum ref ...
— there is no
glycerol Glycerol () is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting, viscous liquid. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known as glycerides. It is also widely used as a sweetener in the food industry and as a humectant in pha ...
sidestream. This process removes oxygen from the oil; the diesel is not an
oxygenate In the liquid fuel industry, oxygenates are hydrocarbon-derived fuel additives containing at least one oxygen atom to promote complete combustion. Absent oxygenates, fuel combustion is usually incomplete, and the exhaust stream pollutes the air ...
like traditional transesterified FAME
biodiesel Biodiesel is a renewable biofuel, a form of diesel fuel, derived from biological sources like vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled greases, and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made from fats. The roots of bi ...
. Catalytic isomerization into branched alkanes is then done to adjust the cloud point in order to meet winter operability requirements. As it is chemically identical to ideal conventional diesel, it requires no modification or special precautions for the engine.


Production

Two refineries in Porvoo, Finland were brought on stream in 2007 and 2009, each with a capacity of 0.2 million tons per year. Two larger refineries, with annual production of 0.8 million tons both, were brought on stream in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
and
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
in 2010 and 2011, respectively.


Emissions

Neste has estimated that the use of NExBTL diesel cuts greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 90 percent in comparison to fossil based diesel. Due to the chemistry of the process, the renewable diesel is pure
alkane In organic chemistry, an alkane, or paraffin (a historical trivial name that also has other meanings), is an acyclic saturated hydrocarbon. In other words, an alkane consists of hydrogen and carbon atoms arranged in a tree structure in whi ...
and contains no aromatics, oxygen (although oxygen would have promoted cleaner combustion) or sulfur.


Cloud point

The
cloud point In liquids, the cloud point is the temperature below which a transparent solution undergoes either a liquid-liquid phase separation to form an emulsion or a liquid-solid phase transition to form either a stable sol or a suspension that settles as ...
(or gel point) can be adjusted down to −40 °C (−40 °F) during the manufacturing process, compared to petrodiesel's cloud point of −30 °C (−22 °F), which could improve the cloud point of diesel when blended. The cloud point is the temperature when the wax precipitates out of the fuel in the form of small wax crystals, making the fuel cloudy and more difficult to move within the fuel lines and systems of vehicles. The lower the cloud point of a particular fuel is, the more suitable it is in colder environments.


Feedstocks

A mix of palm oil, rapeseed oil, and waste fat from the food industry can be used. Initially,
palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...
was the principal (90%) feedstock, although its share was reduced to 53% by 2013 and to less than 20% by 2017. However, the EU biofuels industry has increased its use of palm oil by 365% during the years 2006–2012, from 0.4 to 1.9 million tonnes per year, and the trend is increasing. Also note that categorising Palm Fatty Acid Distillate, PFAD, as waste is controversial since it can be used to make e.g. soap, candles and animal fodder. In the UK PFAD is classified as a bi-product). PFAD is also omitted from sustainability requirements regarding biodiversity and high carbon stock areas (HCV).Norwegian Environment Agency: Facts on biofuels. (in Norwegian) 3. March 2016. http://www.miljodirektoratet.no/no/Nyheter/Nyheter/2016/Mars-2016/Fakta-om-biodrivstoff/ Palm oil may endanger the
carbon neutrality Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...
of the fuel if forest is cleared and swamps drained to make way for palm plantations. In response to this concern, Neste has joined the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to certify that the palm oil is produced in a carbon-neutral, environmentally responsible manner. Neste purchases most of its palm oil from IOI, but requires a separate production chain for the RSPO-certified palm oil, in order not to create demand for rainforest destruction. Deforestation would release carbon to the atmosphere, and reduce the overall carbon binding capacity of the land, thus it would be counterproductive with respect to the carbon balance. In 2007,
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...
protested the use of palm oil, concluding the potential for deforestation remains. According to Greenpeace, increasing the production of palm oil reduces the available land area, so indirectly generates demand for rainforest destruction, even if the palm oil itself is rainforest-certified. Greenpeace noted RSPO is voluntary organization and claimed government regulation in palm oil producing countries, such as
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, cannot be relied on because of
political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influen ...
. Greenpeace also claimed palm oil diesel can actually produce three to 10 times more carbon dioxide emissions than petrodiesel because of the indirect effects of clearing of
swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
s, forest fires and indirect generation of demand for land area. Greenpeace demands that Neste should use domestic feedstocks such as
rapeseed oil Close-up of canola blooms Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historica ...
or
biogas Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste, Wastewater treatment, wastewater, and food waste. Biogas is produced by anaerobic ...
, instead. However, rapeseed is a slower-growing, cold-climate source with lesser carbon-binding potential than the oil palm, making emissions from cultivation and transport proportionally more severe. In 2017, the share of palm oil in the feedstock has been reduced to less than 20%, being replaced by reclaimed waste oils such as used frying oil, animal and fish fat, and camelina, jatropha, soy and rapeseed oil. Use of reclaimed waste oil reduces the greenhouse gas impact by 88–91%. Neste is continuing to look into new feedstock, including
algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...
, jatropha and
microbial oil Single cell oil, also known as Microbial oil consists of the intracellular storage lipids, triacyglycerols. It is similar to vegetable oil, another biologically produced oil. They are produced by oleaginous microorganisms, which is the term for t ...
.


Use

This diesel is blended with petrodiesel. A market is created because the European Union required 5.75% of transport fuels should be biofuels by 2010. The EU further decided on 18 December 2008, that by 2020, the share of energy from renewable sources in all forms of transportation be at least 10% of the final consumption of energy. Systems and regions without an electrical grid will be the long-term market for hydrotreated vegetable oils, as the EU prefers electrical use by factor 2.5. In the Helsinki area, the
Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council The Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council (, ) was a co-operation agency operating in the Helsinki metropolitan area, now replaced by HSL and HSY. The organisation had a few responsibilities, most notably regional public transport and waste manag ...
and the Helsinki City Transport conducted a three-year experiment by running buses with 25% Neste Renewable Diesel at first, and then switching to 100% in 2008. The trial, which was the largest field test of a biofuel produced from renewable raw materials worldwide, was a success: local emissions were decreased significantly, with particle emissions decreased by 30% and nitrogen oxide emissions by 10%, with excellent winter performance and no problems with catalytic converters. Since then, Helsinki buses have run on Neste Renewable Diesel. As a result of its hydrocarbon nature, Neste Renewable Diesel operates without problems in current diesel vehicles in all climatic conditions. It does not have any of the drawbacks of the traditional ester type FAME biodiesel, such as cold operability, 'best before' date, engine and fuel system deposit formation, risk for microbial growth and water pick up, engine oil dilution and deterioration. Neste Renewable Diesel can be blended into diesel fuel in any ratio, whereas the use of the traditional FAME biodiesel is limited to maximum 7% by the EN 590 standard in order to avoid technical problems in engines and vehicles. Following a proposal by VDA, Daimler Trucks and Daimler Buses recommend the biofuel Neste Renewable Diesel as an admixture to
petrodiesel Diesel fuel, also called diesel oil, heavy oil (historically) or simply diesel, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a re ...
.


See also

* Biomass to liquid (BtL)


References

{{Palm oil Synthetic fuel technologies Renewable energy technology Petroleum production Biofuels Palm oil