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Slate Refining and Starwood Energy to repurpose refinery into a renewable fuels production facility

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Versión en Español Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF. Starwood Energy Group Global, Inc. (“Starwood Energy”, a private investment firm that specializes in energy infrastructure investments) and Slate Refining, LLC (“Slate”, an energy production and wholesale distribution and logistics company) have announced that they have entered into an exclusive agreement to reconfigure Slate’s refinery located in Douglas (Wyoming, USA) into a state-of-the-art renewable fuels production facility. Press release: “ Starwood Energy and Slate Refining Partner to Develop, Construct and Operate Renewable Fuels Facility ”, 17/08/2021. Upon completion of the project, the facility is expected to produce over 100 MGal annually of renewable fuels, such as renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and arctic diesel. Starwood Energy’s extensive experience developing, owning, operating and financing renewables and energy transition projects, coupled with Slate’s operational and refining expertise, brings a...
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Haldor Topsoe to build a demo plant to produce methanol from biogas and green electricity

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Type of post: NEWS. Haldor Topsoe will build a methanol plant to scale-up its electrified and extremely compact eSMR Methanol™ technology for production of sustainable methanol from biogas. It is expected to demonstrate that the process can compete with traditional methanol production based on fossil fuels in terms of cost. Press release: “ Topsoe to build demonstration plant to produce cost-competitive CO2-neutral methanol from biogas and green electricity ”, 16/7/2019. Figure 1. Comparison between a traditional reactor and the electrified compact reactor of Haldor Topsoe Location Aarhus University’s research facility in Foulum (Denmark) Feedstocks The technology exploits the full carbon potential of biogas by utilizing even the 40% CO 2 content which is routinely separated and vented today. Green electricity from wind turbines or solar panels instead of natural gas. Product and production capacity 10 kg/h of meth...
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Biorefinery models - Lignocellulosic biorefinery

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Publication date: 25/04/2016 Last update: 25/04/2016 ABOUT THE SERIES OF POSTS “BIOREFINERY MODELS” This post belongs to a series called “ Biorefinery Models ”. This series is devoted to briefly describe the models or concepts of advanced biorefineries which have emerged in the last few years and that are rising currently. These models are simplified representations which enable us to understand in a simple way the structure and characteristics of a general biorefinery type. Some of these models refer to the type of feedstock while other focus on the technologies involved. A biorefinery may resemble these models or be the result of variations and combinations of them. It should be noted that although these paradigms are very useful and instructive, they show limitations in describing and classifying complex systems with high level of integration. In order to define and describe a specific complex case, the blog recommends use the classification proposed by IEA Bioenerg...
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Levulinic acid biorefineries

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Publication date: 16/11/2015 Last update: 20/02/2016 Description 1,2 Levulinic acid (also known as 4-oxopentanoic acid or γ-ketovaleric acid) is an organic compound with chemical formula C 5 H 8 O 3 . It is a white crystalline solid soluble in water and polar organic solvents. It contains ketone and a carboxylic group whose presence results in interesting reactivity patterns. It is one of the more recognized Biobased Chemical Building Blocks , a starting material for a wide number of compounds (see Applications below). In fact, it was recognized by the US DoE as one of the top biobased platform chemicals of the future and it can successfully address many performance-related issues attributed to petroleum-based chemicals and materials. Process technologies 1,3,4,5 The controlled degradation of C6-sugars by acids is the most widely used approach to prepare levulinic acid from lignocellulosic biomass. Other methods have also been studied, for instance, the hydroly...
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New HVO plant enters into operation in China

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Versión en Español Type of post: NEWS. According to S&P Global Platts, last month, State-owned energy company Beijing Sanju Environmental Protection & New Materials launched a 400 ktons/year capacity HVO plant in Rizhao (Shandong, China) province. The biorefinery utilizes used cooking oil (UCO) and palm oil mill effluent (POME) as feedstocks. News (S&P Global Platts): “ China reinforces position in HVO market with launch of new 400,000 mt/year plant ”, 24/03/2021. Hydrotreating (HVO) – Concepts, feedstocks and specifications . HVO posts. Figure 1. Beijing Sanju, current and planned HVO plants (source: S&P Global Platts Analytics) The new HVO plant (Shandong Sanju Bioenergy) was the result of a cooperation agreement (07/04/2020) between Beijing Sanju (primary owner, investor and tech provider), Hainan Qilu Development (investor and subsidiary of Qilu Transportation Development Group) and the Juxian County Government (minority owner, fixed assets). Shandong Sanju Bio...
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