Diamond Green facility uses Honeywell technology to produce diesel fuel from waste feedstock.
Technology provider UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, says its UOP/Eni Ecofining process technology is now powering what it calls “the largest commercial advanced biofuel facility in the U.S.”
Honeywell says the Diamond Green Diesel facility in Norco, Louisiana, is now capable of producing more than 130 million gallons annually of diesel fuel made from inedible oils and other waste feedstocks.
Unlike some other forms of biodiesel, the “Honeywell Green Diesel” fuel produced using the UOP process “is chemically identical to petroleum-based diesel and can be used as a drop-in replacement in vehicles with no modifications,” according to a Honeywell news release.
The facility is a joint venture of Darling International Inc. and Diamond Alternative Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Valero Energy.
“Commercial production at the Diamond Green Diesel facility is a significant milestone for the renewable energy industry,” says Veronica May, vice president and general manager for Honeywell’s UOP Renewable Energy and Chemicals business unit. “UOP has leveraged 100 years of refining technology to make real alternative fuels, including Honeywell Green Diesel and Honeywell Green Jet Fuel, from a range of inedible biofeedstocks.”
John Roach, senior vice president at Valero, adds, “Both the performance of the Ecofining unit and the quality of the diesel produced has exceeded our expectations.”
Randall C. Stuewe, chairman and CEO at Darling International, comments, “The availability of sustainable feedstocks is a key driver for the continued growth of renewable fuels. One of the benefits of the Ecofining process is that the technology is capable of processing a variety of feedstocks collected and manufactured by Darling to produce high-quality Green Diesel.”
Fuel produced at the facility is designed to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires a minimum volume of transportation fuels sold in the U.S. to contain renewable fuel to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Diamond Green Diesel facility will produce more than 200 million “ethanol-equivalent-gallons per year” of biomass-based diesel as defined under the Renewable Fuel Standard.
UOP says it worked with Italy’s Eni S.p.A. to jointly develop the Ecofining process, which uses hydro-processing technology to convert non-edible natural oils and animal fats to Honeywell Green Diesel.
