Oberon and SHV Energy join forces to accelerate use of renewable DME in transportation

By -

Type of post: NEWS.

Oberon Fuels (company aimed at decarbonizing transportation) and SHV Energy (the world’s largest distributor of propane fuel) are partnering to accelerate the use of renewable dimethyl ether (rDME) to reduce the carbon footprint of transportation fuel. When blended with propane, rDME enables a significant reduction of the carbon intensity.
Press release: “SHV Energy partners with Oberon Fuels to accelerate use of renewable DME (rDME) to decarbonise transportation”, 11/2/2020.
Related posts:
- “Neste starts up the world's first large-scale renewable propane production unit in its Rotterdam biorefinery”, 22/3/2018.
- “Oberon Fuels obtains a grant from the State of California for production of renewable dimethyl ether”, 14/6/2019.

Figure 1. Oberon and SHV Energy join forces to accelerate use of renewable DMR in transportation

Using its proprietary small-scale process, Oberon Fuels focuses on the production of rDME from waste and/or renewable resources. Oberon Fuels’ pilot plant in Brawley (California) produces fuel-grade DME in North America, which has been used by Volvo Trucks, Mack Trucks and Ford Motor Company for vehicle demonstrations around the world. Over 30 M$ in private funding has been invested in Oberon Fuels since its founding in 2010. Additionally, the State of California in 2019 awarded Oberon a 2.9 M$ grant to upgrade its existing DME pilot facility to demonstration scale and facilitate the first production of rDME in USA, with a target production capacity of approximately 1.6 million gallons per year.

Building on this momentum, SHV Energy and Oberon will leverage their collaboration in three ways:
1) funding will augment the grant to further develop DME fuelling infrastructure and vehicle development;
2) SHV Energy’s technical resources will help test the use of rDME blended with propane (with only a 20% blend of rDME, propane’s carbon intensity value is reduced from 83 gCO2e/MJ to 11 gCO2e/MJ.);
3) SHV Energy’s extensive global distribution network will facilitate greater use of rDME in numerous energy applications worldwide.

Popular Posts

Biofuels from algae

By -
Image
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
Read more

Hidrotratamiento (HVO) – Conceptos, materias primas y especificaciones

By -
Image
English version 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                El acrónimo HVO significa en inglés “ Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils ” (“Aceites Vegetales Hidrotratados”) o ” Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils ” (“Aceites Vegetales Hidrogenados”). Clave del proceso: Tratamiento con hidrógeno. En el proceso de producción de HVO, el hidrógeno se usa para eliminar el oxígeno de los triglicéridos produciendo una mezcla de parafinas lineales, CO 2 y agua. Posteriormente, el producto de la primera etapa se isomeriza, siempre en presencia de hidrógeno, para ramificar las cadenas lineales con el propósito de mejorar las propiedades de flujo en frío de los productos finales. Por tanto, los HVO son
Read more

Etanol celulósico – Lo básico: Conceptos y materias primas

By -
Image
English version Sección: BIOCOMBUSTIBLES AVANZADOS Serie: Etanol celulósico - Lo básico: Concepto y materias primas - Lo básico: Ruta de conversión –Bioquímica - Lo básico: Ruta de conversión –Termoquímica - Cellulosic ethanol biorefineries at commercial scale Entradas: ETANOL CELULÓSICO 1. Conceptos generales El etanol (también conocido como alcohol etílico, alcohol para beber o simplemente alcohol) es un líquido volátil, inflamable e incoloro con la fórmula molecular C 2 H 6 O (también se puede escribir como CH 3 CH 2 OH y C 2 H 5 OH) y a menudo se abrevia como EtOH. La Asociación Europea de Etanol Renovable (ePURE) afirma que el mercado del etanol se puede dividir en tres segmentos: (1) Combustible : etanol utilizado como aditivo en la gasolina o como combustible alternativo. (2) Potable : etanol utilizado para producir bebidas espirituosas, como aditivo alimentario, para la extracción de aromas, para la conservación de alimentos y
Read more

Biorrefinerías de ácido levulínico

By -
Image
Fecha de publicación: 16/11/2015 Última actualización: 20/02/2016 Descripción 1,2 El ácido levulínico (también conocido como ácido 4-oxopentanoico o ácido γ-cetovalérico) es un compuesto orgánico con fórmula química C 5 H 8 O 3 . Es un sólido cristalino soluble en agua y en disolventes orgánicos polares. Contiene un grupo cetona y un grupo carboxilo cuya presencia posibilita patrones reactivos interesantes. Es uno de los “ Biobased Chemical Building Blocks ” más reconocidos, precursor de un amplio número de compuestos (véase el apartado Aplicaciones más abajo). De hecho, fue reconocido por el DoE como una de las principales moléculas plataforma del futuro y puede cubrir de manera eficaz muchas de las atribuciones de productos químicos y materiales procedentes del petróleo. Tecnologías de proceso 1,3,4,5 La degradación controlada de azúcares C6 mediante ácidos es el proceso más usado para preparar ácido levulínico a partir de biomasa lignocelulósica. Se han estu
Read more

FDCA (2,5-furandicarboxylic acid) biorefineries

By -
Image
Publication date: 15/06/2017 Last update: 24/01/2018 Introduction 1,2,3,4,5 2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), also known as dehydromucic acid and pyromucic acid, is an organic compound that was first detected in human urine. In fact, a healthy human produces 3-5 mg/day. It is a very stable compound. Some of its physical properties, such as insolubility in most of common solvents and a very high melting point (it melts at 342 °C), seem to indicate intermolecular hydrogen bonding. FDCA has two carboxylic acid groups, which makes it a suitable monomer for polycondensation reactions with diols or diamines. It is one of the top 12 value-added biobased chemicals listed by the US DoE in 2004. The list was updated in 2010 and FDCA was included again, but this time in a group together with furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF). Those three molecules are the main representatives of the furanics (furan derivatives) that has been referred to as “Sleeping Giants” beca
Read more