By JACK WONG

The Star

15 March, 2011

Global environmental organisation Wetlands International has called for an end to incentives for biofuels in the European Union (EU).

It said such incentives had resulted in direct and indirect land use change, like in Malaysia where huge areas of peat swamp forests had been cleared for oil palm cultivation.

In its latest published global news, Wetlands International claimed that the expansion of oil palm plantations in Sarawak might lead to the complete loss of the vast and unique peat swamp forests by the end of this decade.

“In just five years (2005-2010), almost 10% of Sarawak’s forests and 33% of the peat swamp forests have been cleared. Of this, 65% was for conversion to palm oil production,” it added. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Star

12 March, 2011

Premium Renewable Energy (M) Sdn Bhd confirmed that it has selected US-based Envergent Technologies LLC, a Honeywell unit to undertake the engineering design for the first bio-oil plant in Malaysia that will use Envergent’s RTP (Rapid Thermal Processing) technology to convert palm biomass into renewable heat and electricity.

A Premium spokeman told StarBiz yesterday that the company would be looking at setting up more such plants in the country possibly via joint ventures using palm biomass like empty fruit bunches (EFB), tree trunks and fronds as feedstock.

Premium has been identified as one of the two lead initiative owners for the seventh entry point project for the palm oil National Key Economic Area (NKEA) under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), involving the commercialisation of second-generation biofuel. Read the rest of this entry »

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Istock Analyst

7 March, 2011

Neste Oil has announced that it will increase its use of waste as a raw material for producing NExBTL renewable diesel in 2011.

Palm oil will continue to be the single largest raw material input, and is expected to account for just under half of the total raw material used in renewable diesel production in 2011. The use of sidestreams generated during palm oil production, such as palm fatty acid distillate, and waste such as animal fat, will increase. Stearin, a by-product of the palm oil production process, is expected to account for over 20% of Neste Oil’s renewable input in 2011, and palm fatty acid distillate for 5-10%. Waste animal fat is expected to account for just under 20% of renewable input. Other inputs, such as rapeseed oil, will account for the remainder. Read the rest of this entry »

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Neste Oil Corporation Press release

MarketWire

3 March, 2011

Neste Oil to increase its use of waste in renewable diesel production

Neste Oil is to increase its use of waste as a raw material for producing NExBTL renewable diesel in 2011. Palm oil will continue to be the single largest raw material input, and is expected to account for just under half of the total raw material used in renewable diesel production in 2011. The use of sidestreams generated during palm oil production, such as palm fatty acid distillate, and waste such as animal fat, will increase. Stearin, a by-product of the palm oil production process, is expected to account for over 20% of Neste Oil’s renewable input in 2011, and palm fatty acid distillate for 5-10%. Waste animal fat is expected to account for just under 20% of renewable input. Other inputs, such as rapeseed oil, will account for the remainder. Read the rest of this entry »

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Business Times

26 February, 2011

THE government remains committed to implementing the biodiesel B5 mandate in four months although crude palm oil is trading at high prices.

It has allocated RM200 million to put up blending facilities nationwide to blend diesel with palm methyl ester from June 2011 to kick-start sales of the green fuel, after a five-year delay.

Yesterday, the third-month crude palm oil futures on the Malaysian Derivatives Exchange rose RM58 to close at RM3,515 per tonne. Read the rest of this entry »

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Eco Business

31 January, 2011

Defunct first-generation (1-G) biodiesel plants – which became uneconomical when palm oil prices soared – are being revived as new owners upgrade them to make other products like chemicals used for oil and gas drilling.

The ‘rejuvenation’ of Northfield-based Stepan Company is the first of these. After acquiring Peter Cremer’s 100,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) methyl ester plant in July last year, the American chemicals company is currently upgrading it and installing another fractionation column at the Singapore plant to potentially double its capacity to 200,000 tpa.

The plant’s upgrading and expansion, scheduled for completion in February next year, will enable Stepan to produce surfactants used in oilfields. Stepan’s surfactants are used in three major oilfield market segments, including drilling, production and stimulation. Methyl esters are for instance used as solvents in drilling fluids. Read the rest of this entry »

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By The Associated Press

Bloomberg

28 January, 2011

Social and environmental activists have named a Finnish maker of biofuels and South African mining company AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. the world’s worst corporations.

Neste Oil Corp. received the most votes in an online poll organized by Greenpeace and Swiss-based group Declaration of Bern. Activists have claimed that the company’s use of palm oil is causing rainforest destruction and displacing populations in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Organizers of the 2011 “Public Eye Awards” handed AngloGold Ashanti a separate jury award for its gold mining activity in Ghana.

The award ceremony was held Friday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting of top business and political leaders in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

Neste Oil, in a statement, said it was disappointed by the decision.

“The result is not a positive one for us, but it is important to put it in perspective,” said Simo Honkanen, senior vice president for sustainability.

“We believe that we are one of the world’s most responsible companies buying palm oil today. We only buy palm oil produced according to sustainable principles with a verifiable origin that is available,” he said in a statement.

“We take full responsibility for all aspects of our operations and the sustainability of the renewable raw materials we use, and we work very hard to ensure our overall sustainability,” Honkanen said.

AngloGold Ashanti could not be reached for comment.

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By Ranjeetha Pakiam

Bloomberg

28 December, 2010

Sime Darby Plantation Sdn., a unit of Malaysia’s Sime Darby Bhd., said it is collaborating with Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. to “construct and operate” a bioethanol demonstration plant in the Malaysian state of Selangor.

The plant, which will convert empty oil palm fruit bunches into bioethanol, will have a processing capacity of 1.25 metric tons per day, Sime Darby said in an e-mailed statement today. The plant will collect operational data and confirm the technical feasibility of commercial-scale production of bioethanol from this source, the statement said.

“The empty fruit bunch can now move further up the value chain as a source of biofuel,” Franki Anthony Dass, Read the rest of this entry »

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