In Brazil, state-owned oil and gas major Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) and fuel distributor Vibra Energia S.A. (previously known as BR Distribuidora), will test a new diesel fuel – diesel R5 - produced with 5 percent renewable content at the Presidente Getúlio Vargas Refinery (Repar). Starting in January 2022, three bus lines operated by Auto Viação Redentor, in Curitiba, State of Paraná (PR), will run on the new fuel over the next six months.
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The new diesel fuel R5 is produced by co-processing vegetable oils or animal fat with petroleum crude, and the R5 fuel leaves the refinery with 95 percent mineral diesel and 5 percent renewable diesel.
Vibra will then make the mandatory blend of 10 percent biodiesel before supplying the final product to the customer containing a total of 15 percent renewable content.
During the test period, around 120 m3 of fuel will be supplied to the buses of the city, with the aim of evaluating, in a real situation, the influence of the new fuel in emission reduction, performance, and maintenance of these vehicles.
According to Petrobras and Vibra, preliminary studies show that renewable diesel reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 70 percent compared to conventional mineral diesel.
Green or renewable diesel is a chemically advanced biofuel equal to mineral diesel but produced from renewable raw materials such as vegetable oils, animal fats, or used cooking oil (UCO).
Opens for higher biofuel blending
Despite not being used industrially in Brazil, co-processing is widely used in Europe and the United States (US) and is seen by many as the fastest and cheapest way to introduce renewable diesel content into the fuel market pool, as it uses existing industrial units in oil refineries.
Furthermore, the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) is considering allowing renewable diesel, produced in dedicated units or by co-processing vegetable oils, to be eligible as a renewable blendstock in the mandatory biofuel blending in diesel oil.
According to Petrobras and Vibra, if accepted, the introduction of the new fuel will bring advantages to the consumer, as the adoption of the more modern renewable diesel, enables the use of higher renewable blend levels in newer diesel engines.
In addition, it will provide greater competition between biofuels for diesel engines. Competition drives quality improvement and cost reduction of both products, renewable diesel, and biodiesel.
