Brazil’s national oil company (NOC) Petrobras-controlled Riograndense refinery has completed tests to produce fuels from eucalyptus biomass in Brazil's southern Rio Grande do Sul state, reported Argus.
Bio-oil derived from eucalyptus biomass has been processed by the refinery, and converted into various fractions.
These include fuel gas, liquefied petroleum gas, components for gasoline, and marine fuel with renewable content.
Vallourec's forest division supplied the bio-oil in the state of Minas Gerais.
"The test reveals the possibility of using wood and other forestry residues as feedstocks for products usually coming from a fossil origin," said the NOC’s technology, engineering, and innovation director Renata Baruzzi.
Petrobras aims to transform the Riograndense facility into the world's first oil plant to produce completely renewable fuels, according to Petrobras' chief executive Magda Chambriard.
The initiative forms part of Petrobras' BioRefino programme, which will invest approximately $1.5bn to generate sustainable fuels starting in 2029.
The Riograndense refinery is jointly controlled by Petrobras along with Brazilian firms Ultra Group and petrochemicals major Braskem.
Successful tests for eucalyptus biomass-to-fuels completed in Brazil
