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Showing posts from September, 2015

Biofuels from algae

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In my opinion, the production of biofuels and biobased chemicals from algae is one of the most fascinating topics in the sector of the biorefineries and it will be one of the niches of opportunity with highest potential in the medium and the long terms. This post pretend to be a very basic approach to the topic Algae-to-Biofuels through three general key points. Algae 1,2,3,4,5 Algae include a wide variety of photosynthetic organisms capable of transforming light, water and specific nutrients into products that can be used with commercial and industrial purposes. We can say that algae are sunlight-driven factories with potential to convert CO 2 into biofuels, high-value biochemical, food and feed. There are four algae cultivation technologies currently in use for commercial algae cultivation and proposed for algal biofuel production: extensive or open ponds, intensive or raceway ponds, closed photobioreactors in many designs and closed fermenter systems. Algal biof

DRT comisiona su nueva biorrefinería de tall oil en Vielle-Saint-Girons

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DRT (Dérivés Résiniques et Terpéniques) anunciaba el pasado 14 de septiembre, el comisionado de su nueva biorrefinería de tall oil en sus instalaciones de Vielle-Saint-Girons (Francia). DRT tiene su sede central en el Sudoeste de France (región de Landas) y tiene 4 centros de producción en Francia, 1 en China y 3 en India. La compañía está especializada en la valorización de colofonia y trementina extraída de resinas de pino, y para cumplir con el crecimiento de la demanda de los mercados internacionales, ha decidido incrementar su capacidad de producción gracias a una nueva tecnología de fraccionamiento de tall oil. Figure 1. Aerial shot of the DRT site in Vielle-Saint-Girons (extracted from DRT webpage) El tall oil es un subproducto en la fabricación de pasta de papel a partir de coníferas mediante el proceso al sufato o Kraft. Está formado por una mezcla de ácidos resínicos, grasos y sustancias insaponificables como hidrocarburos pesados, alcoholes superiores y estero

DRT commissions its new tall-oil biorefinery in Vielle-Saint-Girons

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DRT (Dérivés Résiniques et Terpéniques) announced on 14 th September, the commissioning of its new tall-oil biorefinery on its site of Vielle-Saint-Girons (France). DRT is headquartered in Southwestern France (Landes region) and it has 4 production sites in France, 1 in China and 3 in India. The company is specialized in the valorization of rosin and turpentine extracted from pine resin and, to meet the growing demand of the international markets, has decided to increase its production capacities thanks to a new tall-oil fractionation technology. Figure 1. Aerial shot of the DRT site in Vielle-Saint-Girons (extracted from DRT webpage) Tall-oil is a liquid obtained as a by-product of the Kraft process of wood pulp manufacture when pulping mainly coniferous trees. Normally, crude tall-oil contains resin acids, fatty acids and unsaponifiable substances (sterols and other alkyl hydrocarbon derivatives). The crude tall oil does not have a great commercial value, however, whe

Biorrefinerías de Aceites Vegetales Hidrotatados (HVO) – El auge del diésel renovable

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Fecha de publicación: 17/09/2015. Última actualización: 22/03/2017. Sección: BIOCOMBUSTIBLES AVANZADOS Serie: HVO - Hidrotratamiento (HVO)– Conceptos, materias primas y especificaciones - Hidrotratamiento(HVO) – Ventajas sobre el biodiesel convencional y propiedades - Biorrefinerías de Aceites Vegetales Hidrotatados (HVO) – El auge del diésel renovable - Entradas: HVO Tecnologías Empresa Tecnología Axens Vegan Colabitoil - ENI and Honeywell UOP Ecofining Haldor Topsoe Hydroflex Neste NEXBTL REG BioSynfining Ryze Renewables - UPM Biofuels UPM BioVerno Otros: ConocoPhillips, BP, PetroBras and Nippon Oil Usadas para coprocesado o a pequeña escala Figura 1. Biorrefinería de HVO de Neste en Singapur (extraída de la página web de Neste) Biorrefinerías de HVO en operación Ubicación Propietario Tecnología