Petrobras to test HVO production at Repar refinery
Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF.
Petrobras will carry out tests of renewable
diesel production at the Presidente
Getúlio Vargas Refinery (Repar) in Araucária (Paraná, Brazil) starting this
month.
Press release: “Petrobras
está preparada para produzir nova gasolina em suas refinarias”, 24/6/2020.
Related posts: “Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils (HVO)
Biorefineries – The rise of renewable diesel”, 17/11/2019 (last update).
Figure 1. Repar Refinery in Araucária will host
the tests of HVO production (taken from the company website)
According to Anelise Lara (Director of Refining
and Natural Gas at Petrobras), the market entry of this renewable diesel still
depends on regulation by the ANP (National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and
Biofuels of Brazil). Its economic viability would be subject to the approval of
a new rule for adding biofuels to diesel, issue currently under discussion at
the ANP.
Petrobras patented its hydroconversion process, called
H-Bio, in 2006 and performed several industrial tests at that time using vegetable
oils (soya and castor) in its refineries. However, there is no evidence supporting
a regular production after those initial tests.