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UPM Lappeenranta Biorefinery

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Nombre / Name UPM Lappeenranta Biorefinery Empresa / Company UPM Biofuels  ( www.upmbiofuels.com ) Localización / Location Lappeenranta (Finland) Categoría / Category Comercial / Commercial Estado / Status Operación / Running Plataforma / Platform Aceites /  Oil Materia prima / Feedstock Tall oil Producto / Product Biodiésel  / Biodiesel Puesta en marcha / Start-Up Enero 2015  / January 2015 Figure 1. UPM Lappeenranta Biorefinery (extracted from UPM Biofuels webpage) La primera biorrefinería del mundo que produce biodiesel a partir de residuos forestales inició su funcionamiento comercial en enero de 2015. La instalación está localizada en el mismo enclave que la planta papelera Kaukas de UPM en las orillas del lago Saimaa en Lappeenranta al sudeste de Finlandia. La capacidad de la planta es de 100.000 de toneladas al año y emplea a un...
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Alcohol-To-Fuel

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Type of post: OVERVIEW. Introduction Bioethanol produced from fermentation of sugar based crops is the major product of the biofuels industry [1]. But, ethanol is not a “drop-in” solution and requires substantial changes in refining or distribution infrastructure. The properties of this alcohol (an oxygenated single molecule) are largely different than those of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel blendstocks (mixtures of hydrocarbons), leading to problems in blends. Ethanol can cause corrosion problems in transport pipelines that were designed to work only with gasoline. In the specific case of the aviation fuel, there are stricter quality requirements than fuels used in road transport. Ethanol shows low compatibility as a blendstock for aviation fuel because of its high volatility and water absorption and low flash point and energy density. Butanol is not as incompatible as ethanol, however, it still poses unacceptable safety risks due to its low flash point and high volatilit...
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Hydrotreating (HVO) – Concepts, feedstocks and specifications

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Versión en Español Section: ADVANCED BIOFUELS Series: HVO - Hydrotreating (HVO) – Concepts, feedstocks and specifications - Hydrotreating (HVO) – Advantages over FAME and properties - Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils (HVO) Biorefineries – The rise of renewable diesel - Posts: HVO                The acronym HVO stands for “ Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils ” or ” Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils ”. Key of the process: Treatment with hydrogen. In the HVO production process, hydrogen is used to remove the oxygen from the triglycerides producing a mix of linear paraffins, CO 2 and water. Then, the product of the first stage is isomerized, always in presence of hydrogen, in order to branch the linear chains for improving the cold flow properties of the final products. Thus, HVO are mixtures of paraffinic hydrocarbons, free of sulphur and aromatics and with a very high cetane number. The hydrocarbons...
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Mitsui Chemicals, Neste and Toyota Tsusho join forces for industrial production of biobased plastics and chemicals

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Versión en Español Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF. Mitsui Chemicals , Neste and Toyota Tsusho have joined forces to enable Japan’s first industrial-scale production of renewable plastics and chemicals from 100% biobased hydrocarbons. Press release: “ Neste, Mitsui Chemicals and Toyota Tsusho collaborate to start Japan'sfirst production of renewable plastics from 100% bio-based hydrocarbons ”, 20/05/2021. Related post: “ Neste RE – Neste launches a 100% renewable and recycled raw material for plastics and chemicals production ”, 01/12/2020. In this collaboration, Mitsui Chemicals will use Neste RE, 100% biobased hydrocarbons produced by Neste, to replace a part of the fossil feedstock in the production of a variety of plastics and chemicals at its crackers within Osaka Works during 2021. In doing so, Mitsui Chemicals will become Japan’s first company to use biobased feedstock in its crackers. The introduction of Neste-produced biobased hydrocarbons as feedstock will allow Mitsui ...
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Hydrotreating (HVO) – Advantages over FAME and properties

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Versión en Español Section: ADVANCED BIOFUELS Series: HVO - Hydrotreating (HVO) – Concepts, feedstocksand specifications - Hydrotreating (HVO) – Advantages over FAME and properties - Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils (HVO) Biorefineries – The rise of renewable diesel - Posts: HVO Hydrotreating is an alternative process to esterification to produce diesel from biomass. Traditionally, diesel components produced from vegetable oils are made by an esterification process. In fact, HVO are commonly referred to as renewable diesel or green diesel in order to distinguish from Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME), best known as biodiesel. Other acronyms are also used depending on the feedstock, such as Rape Seed Methyl Ester” (RME), “Soybean Methyl Ester” (SME), “Palm Oil Methyl Ester” (PME) or “Used Cooking Oils Methyl Ester (UCOME). In the HVO production process, hydrogen is used to remove the oxygen from the triglycerides and does not produce any glycerol as a side product. Additi...
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