In Brazil, JBS Biodiesel, part of JBS, one of the world’s leading food industry companies has commissioned a new biodiesel plant in Mafra, State of Catarina (SC). The new plant, the third for JBS Biodiesel, adds an additional 370 million litres per annum of biodiesel capacity.
JBS Biodiesel is expanding its operations with a new biodiesel plant at Mafra, the State of Santa Catarina.
With an investment of BRL 180 million (≈ US$33.7 million), the new plant in Mafra, State of Santa Catarina (SC) has over doubled the biofuel production capacity of the company, a unit of JBS Novos Negócios.
Third biodiesel facility
The new plant is the third JBS Biodiesel facility, In addition to Mafra, the company has a biofuel unit at Lins, State of São Paulo (SP), and another plant at Campo Verde, State of Mato Grosso (MT).
The new Mafra plant covers a total area of 76 000 m2 and has an annual production of approximately 370 million litres.
With the new plant coming on line, the total biodiesel annual production capacity of JBS has over doubled, from 350 million litres to around 720 million litres, accounting for just over 10 percent of the volume of 6.76 billion liters of biofuel produced in 2021, according to data from the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP).
Biofuels play a key role in the Brazilian energy matrix, and biodiesel has huge growth potential here. With this new investment we are emphasizing the importance of the circular economy for our businesses while adding value to the waste from our operations, thereby contributing to o sustainable development, said Alexandre Pereira, Sales Director of JBS Biodiesel.
Strategic location
The city of Mafra was chosen for its easy access to rail and road modals, the proximity of the Presidente Getúlio Vargas Refinery (Repar), one of Brazil’s leading diesel blending and distribution units, as well as rapid access to the Port of Paranaguá, in the State of Paraná (PR), Brazil’s third-largest port.
The plats operations will create 400 direct and indirect jobs, benefitting the economy of the Western region of Santa Catarina.
To produce biodiesel at Mafra, JBS Biodiesel will use as raw materials recycled cooking oil and soybean oil originating from grain crushing to produce soybean meal that feeds poultry and pigs.
This enables the company to strengthen the diversity of its sources of raw materials since it is currently the world’s largest verticalized producer of biodiesel from bovine tallow.
The choice by JBS Biodiesel to expand its presence in the biodiesel market is in line with the JBS commitment to Net Zero whose target is to zero the balance of its value chain-related emissions by 2040.
