Ensyn receives regulatory approval for its renewable petrol

Ensyn, a producer of cellulosic liquid biofuels from wood residues and other non-food biomass, has been granted regulatory approval from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its renewable petrol product.

The approval, in accordance with Title 40 CFR Part 79 of the Clean Air Act, is required for Ensyn’s RFGasoline to be sold in the US.

The endorsement follows the recently announced Part 79 approval of Ensyn’s renewable diesel product, RFDiesel.

RFGasoline, a drop-in petrol transportation fuel, is created by processing Ensyn’s renewable crude (RFO) with customary petroleum feedstocks in conventional petroleum refineries (RFO coprocessing).

Ensyn is developing and commercialising RFO coprocessing together with Honeywell UOP, a provider of technology solutions for the refining industry.

The RFO product is produced by processing non-food solid biomass, including wood residues, with Ensyn’s RTP technology.

Technology licensing, engineering services, and supply of equipment is being provided to RTP projects by Honeywell UOP through Envergent Technologies, a joint venture between Honeywell UOP and Ensyn.

‘With Part 79 regulatory approvals now in hand for both RFDiesel and RFGasoline, Ensyn and Honeywell UOP can accelerate the commercial introduction of RFO Coprocessing, an attractive solution for refiners wishing to easily integrate cellulosic feedstocks into their operations in a cost-effective manner,’ comments Veronica May, VP and general manager of UOP’s renewable energy and chemicals business.

In addition to UOP, Ensyn is working with a number of partners to advance its RFO coprocessing business.

For the Part 79 registration process, the liquid RFO feedstock was produced at one of Ensyn’s commercial facilities and shipped to Brazil.

Using Petrobras’ proprietary FCC co-processing technology, 400 gallons of co-processed diesel were produced in a technical collaboration between Petrobras and the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

The petrol fraction was shipped to a major international oil company in the US for initial evaluation and preparation for the Part 79 test.

The final RFGasoline product was then shipped to Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio, Texas, where independent Part 79 testing was conducted.