A New Development in Renewable Fuels: Green Diesel

The production of renewable fuels is continuing to expand worldwide as a result of increasing petroleum prices, government regulations, and commitments to greenhouse gas reduction. There has been little integration of renewable fuels production within petroleum refineries to date, despite the rapidly increasing growth in renewable fuels demand. The segregated production of renewable fuel components increases cost, since the existing infrastructure for distribution and production of petroleum-based fuels is not utilized. Renewable fuels can have greater application in meeting the increasing demand for transportation fuels if economic opportunities for blending or co-processing them within traditional petroleum refineries can be developed. UOP LLC and Eni S.p.A. are jointly developing new technology to utilize renewable feedstocks derived from vegetable oils for the production of high quality diesel fuel. This paper introduces the new UOP/Eni Green DieselTM Process and discusses the advantages it has over other technologies to produce renewable diesel fuel, such as Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME), also known as Biodiesel. © 2007 UOP LLC. All rights reserved. AM-07-11 Page