Biofuels and clean fuels are essential in the energy transition towards attaining carbon neutrality. Biofuels are derived from renewable sources such as plants, used cooking oils, algae or bio waste.

• Ethanol is obtained through fermentation and is blended with conventional gasoline.
• Biodiesel is obtained through trans-esterification and is blended with conventional diesel to reduce carbon footprint.
• Renewable diesel (HVO) relies on a hydrotreatment process (similar to traditional refining) and can be used as 100% drop-in replacement fuel.
• Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is obtained from similar refining process and is a substitute to fossil jet fuel.
• Other clean fuels include biogas, green ammonia and methanol from green hydrogen, etc.

Biofuel production is more complex than fossil fuel and comes with extra challenges:

• Renewable feedstock contains more water and oxygen, and needs more pre-treatment and hydrogen supply.
• Edible oils are more sensitive to temperature changes and wax issues. They need higher maintain temperatures (50-80°C/120-175°F) and a narrow temperature band.
• Feedstock batches can be diverse, depending on availability. This requires flexibility in the heat tracing and temperature controls on process units and storage tanks.
• New projects include the need for data connectivity, energy efficiency and alarm management solutions reducing the operating costs and risks for downtime.