Converting Plant Oil into Renewable Diesel Fuel
SBI Fine Chemicals Inc. constructed a pilot plant in the Edmonton Research Park to demonstrate their proprietary technology that converts plant oils into renewable transportation fuels. Funded through CCEMC Round 10: Open Call in 2015, the prime objective of this project was to generate the design data to optimize SBI’s proprietary biodiesel and renewable diesel technologies to derisk them for commercial deployment.
The technology is designed produce biofuels by converting a diverse range of organic feedstock materials that are common in Alberta, including off-grade canola (i.e. not fit for human consumption), mustards, stinkweed, animal fat and organic forestry waste. In a commercial context, SBI’s technology could displace diesel with a drop-in renewable fuel, which could be useful for a variety of applications.
Using Carbon-Negative Hydrogen to Create Aviation Fuel
During the course of the project, SBI noticed that the produced renewable diesel bound for low temperature northern climates had characteristics of aviation fuel as well. The renewable diesel produced already met ASTM standards for normal drop-in fuel with –150 degrees C freeze point properties; however, to make it compatible with colder climate use, it required a negligible amount of added hydrogen. SBI’s carbon-negative hydrogen was injected into the process to obtain a below -520 degrees C freeze point fuel, which also met Aviation ASTM Jet-A1 specifications and can be used as a drop-in aviation fuel. In addition, SBI found that each oil used in the transformation has its own characteristics and required some changes in the equipment process, but the catalyst remained largely unchanged, proving SBI’s invention’s universal utility. Ultimately, the project results have pointed SBI towards a significant pivot away from biodiesel and into the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) space.
What’s next?
SBI has licensed its technology to Shell Petroleum International for non-exclusive commercialization. SBI, in partnership with Petron Scientech, is developing a project in the Alberta Industrial Heartland to establish a biorefinery complex using SBI’s core technologies to produce biodiesel (FAME), Fatty Acid Ethyl Ester (FAEE), and renewable diesel in one integrated plant. However, the commercial potential of the project remains unclear due to changes in some significant commercialization partners and unclear technical performance metrics.