BIOFUEL NEWS
Palm biofuel use may impact exports Indonesia is forecast to consume over 8M tonnes of palm oil this year to meet domestic demand for biodiesel, which may hit volumes available for export, the Jakarta Globe reported on 4 February. “Domestic demand for palm oil in 2020 is estimated to reach 8.3M tonnes to be processed into biodiesel, which may heavily reduce the amount of palm oil available for export,” Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) executive director Mukti Sardjono said. In January, the government began the mandatory use of B30 (comprising 30% palm biofuel and 70% diesel) and was also aiming to increase this to B40, the Jakarta Globe wrote. The Indonesian Biodiesel Producers Association (APROBI) also said the trial use of
IN BRIEF SPAIN: Farmers unions are proposing that low quality lampante olive oil should be used as feedstock for biodiesel rather than paying for it to be stored until the market improves, the Olive Oil Times reported. The global olive oil market had been disrupted by exceptionally high initial stocks of oil including last year’s huge yield in Spain, when 1.79M tonnes was produced. In response, the EU launched a private storage scheme by providing subsidies to operators, Olive Oil Times said. However, the unions said that paying for storage would simply prolong the oversupply problem while using it in biodiesel would solve it. The proposal is to use 600,000 tonnes of olive oil this way. The Association of Renewable Energy Companies of Spain confirmed the plan’s feasibility provided the process covered the difference in price between olive oil and other oils, including soya and palm oil, currently used to produce biodiesel. 10 OFI – MARCH/APRIL 2020
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B40 fuel would start in March, the Jakarta Post reported on 11 February. APROBI chairman MP Tumanggor was reported by kompas.com as saying the new trial was in line with president Joko Widodo’s plan to implement B40 fully in January 2021. As the world’s top palm oil producer, Indonesia is increasing domestic use of palm -based biodiesel to decrease dependence on international markets, reduce diesel fuel imports and maintain palm oil prices. Gapki said expected favourable weather could boost the country’s palm oil output this year. Indonesia’s crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel oil (PKO) production hit a record 51.8M tonnes last year, up 9.1% from 2018, despite a long drought. CPO production rose 9.4% to 47.2M tonnes and PKO production increased
8.6% to 4.6M tonnes in 2019 compared to 2018, Gapki figures showed. The country exported 36.2M tonnes of palm oil last year, up 4%, despite the adverse effects of the US-China trade war, Indian tariffs and the EU’s palm biodiesel ban. As a result, CPO prices on the global market had been under pressure since the first half of last year. Gapki estimated the export value of palm oil products, including oleochemicals and biodiesel, had declined to US$19bn last year, down 17% from US$23bn in 2018. The decline in export value could have been more severe but CPO prices recovered after President Joko Widodo announced that Indonesia would increase domestic use of CPO for biodiesel, the Jakarta Globe said.
ASTM approves new bio-jet fuel pathway
A new sustainable aviation fuel developed by US research and engineering company Applied Research Associates (ARA) and Chevron Lummus Global (CLG) has been approved by international standards organisation ASTM International. The new production pathway, called ‘cata-
lytic hydrothermolysis jet’ (CHJ), was approved on 15 December and published in the revised ASTM specification for ‘Aviation Turbine Fuel Containing Synthesised Hydrocarbons’ on 29 January. ASTM approval will allow the blending of up to 50% of ARA and CLG’s ReadiJet fuel with petroleum-derived jet fuel. ARA said ReadiJet was produced via the two companies’ Biofuels Isoconversion process, which utilised hyrdrothermal conversion and hydrotreating technology to convert waste fats, oils and greases into jet fuel. “The Biofuels Isoconversion technology is now set for scale-up in the USA and Japan,” ARA said. “In the USA, multiple commercial projects are in engineering and Euglena Corporation is working to start up its integrated Biofuels Isoconversion demonstration facility in Japan with the aim of delivering CHJ for commercial flights during the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.”
Ukraine may lose corn, rapeseed exports to EU The Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) has warned that the country could lose its corn and rapeseed exports to Europe due to the lack of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reporting by producers. European biofuels regulations required the reporting of the whole GHG lifecycle on crops destined for biofuels production including cultivation, harvesting, storage and shipment, APK Inform wrote on 19 February. However, in the Ukraine, almost no reports existed apart from a 2017 GIZ-led study that showed Ukrainian
production exceeded EU thresholds, particularly for corn. In contrast, competitors of Ukrainian agricultural producers – such as exporters of rapeseed from Australia and Canada – had already prepared reports on their volume of GHG emissions two years ago, which the European Commission had already approved, APK Inform said. UGA’s executive director Serhiy Ivaschenko said if Ukrainian producers wanted continued access to the European biofuel market, they would need to reduce their GHG emissions. www.ofimagazine.com
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