Emerald Biofuels to build renewable diesel refinery in Louisiana
17 May 2012
Emerald Biofuels LLC announced that it is planning to site an 85 million gallon per year renewable diesel refinery in Louisiana. The facility, to be located at The Dow Chemical Company’s operating site in Plaquemine, LA, will use Honeywell’s UOP/Eni EcoFining™ process technology for the production of Honeywell Green Diesel Fuel™.
Emerald and Dow are finalizing a site lease and a site services agreement for Dow to provide a number of services and utilities to support Emerald’s operation. The site has ship, barge, rail and truck access, and Emerald will be capable of both receiving and shipping by all four modes of transportation.
The UOP Ecofining process, developed in conjunction with Italy’s Eni SpA, uses catalytic hydroprocessing technology to convert natural oils and animal fats to renewable diesel—Honeywell Green Diesel Fuel™. The hydrocarbon-based product features a high cetane value of around 80 and superior cold-flow performance compared to both methyl ester-based biodiesel and petroleum-based diesel. The renewable diesel can be used as an upgrading stock for petroleum refiners seeking to enhance their existing diesel fuels. The fuel can be also run without blending.
Emerald has retained Fieldstone Private Capital Group, Inc. to assist in completing the financing of the Plaquemine refinery and expects to have the financing closed later this year. International Alliance Group (IAG) will provide engineering, procurement and construction services for the project.
Founded in 2006, Emerald is a Chicago-area based transportation fuel company focusing on building refineries that utilize renewable feedstocks to produce diesel fuel.
In addition to the UOP/Eni Ecofining technology, UOP commercialized the UOP Renewable Jet Fuel Process under a contract with the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to produce Honeywell Green Jet Fuel™ for the US military. It produces an aviation biofuel that can be blended with petroleum-based fuel.