Preem begins production of renewable diesel at Lysekil
15 November 2020
For the first time, renewable raw materials are being converted to Swedish Environmental Class 1 diesel (maximum sulfur content of 10 ppm) at Preem’s refinery in Lysekil. The aim is to annually produce up to 950,000 cubic meters (251 million gallons US) of renewable fuel by 2024.
This is part of a larger project that intends to rebuild the existing Synsat plant for the large-scale production of renewable fuels. To begin with, 5% rapeseed oil will be combined with the fossil raw material for a limited period. This test process is within the conditions of the existing environmental permit and is a basis for the refinery’s conversion.
When the conversion is completed, the plant will be able to receive 40% renewable raw materials, with the ambition of eventually reaching even higher levels. The redevelopment will also mean that the corresponding amount of fossil raw material will be phased out of the Synsat plant.
The conversion is estimated to reduce emissions in the entire value chain by between 1.2–1.7 million tons of CO2 each year, of which the largest reduction will take place in road traffic. At the same time, renewable fuel production will be accommodated within existing CO2 emissions from the refinery.
An application to amend the existing environmental permit is planned to be submitted before the end of the year, with investment decisions planned for the summer 2021. The plant is expected to be operational by 2024 at the latest.
Preem is Sweden’s largest refiner with two plants in Gothenburg and Lysekil. Preem accounts for 80% of Swedish refinery capacity and 30% of Nordic refinery capacity. Nearly 18 million cubic meters of crude oil are refined every year at Preem refineries Preemraff Göteborg and Preemraff Lysekil. This provides a total refining capacity of around 345,000 barrels per calendar day, which corresponds to 15% of Sweden’s total energy consumption. About two-thirds of the products are exported.
By 2030, Preem will produce 5 million cubic meters of renewable fuels, and achieve climate neutrality by 2045.
10 ppm vs. 1000 ppm refined jet fuel.
Posted by: SJC | 15 November 2020 at 10:13 AM
The limit for Environmental Class 1 fuel is 10 ppm but actual fuel on the market is usually much lower than this limit, i.e. around 2 ppm, as a typical value. Environmental Class 1 diesel fuel was first launched in 1990. In vehicle exhaust, the contribution of sulphur from engine oil (i.e. oil additives) is much lower than from the (EC1) fuel.
Posted by: Peter_XX | 16 November 2020 at 04:09 AM