Isra-Mart srl:Singapore opens world's largest biodiesel plant

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Isra-Mart srl news:

Finnish refinery giant Neste Oil has this month opened a major new biodiesel refinery in Singapore, hailing the facility as the world's largest renewable diesel plant.

The company said the new €550m facility will now be ramped up in a phased basis, ultimately delivering 800,000 tonnes a year of the company's NExBTL biodiesel.

Biodiesel has been roundly criticised by environmental groups, which have argued that increased demand for energy crops has inadvertently led to food shortages and deforestation.

However, Neste Oil maintains that its NExBTL renewable diesel can be produced from a "flexible mix of vegetable oils and waste animal fat sourced from the food industry", while its procurement policies ensure that all the feedstocks it uses to produce the diesel are produced responsibly.

The company also claims independent studies have shown that depending on the raw materials used in production, the biodiesel will deliver greenhouse gas emissions of between 40 and 80 per cent compared to conventional diesel, while also resulting in lower tailpipe emissions.

"The benefits of NExBTL renewable diesel have been confirmed in numerous trials and everyday use, and the feedback that we have received from users has been excellent," said president and chief executive Matti Lievonen, adding that the fuel could be used either on its own or blended with conventional diesel.

The Singapore plant is the latest in a series of biodiesel facilities to be opened by Neste Oil as the company looks to establish itself as one of the leading players in the fast-expanding global biofuel market.

The company already operates two renewable diesel plants that were opened at Porvoo in Finland in 2007 and 2009 with a combined capacity of 380,000 tonnes a year, while a new plant is currently under construction in Rotterdam, which is expected to be roughly the same size as the Singapore facility and is expected to open during the first half of next year.