Petronas, other firms invest in green fuel
Published on: Thursday, July 27, 2023
By: David Thien
A Petronas-Mercedez AMG F1 car on display at the Energy Asia that could be using sustainable fuel in future.
Kota Kinabalu: Petronas is diversifying its portfolio to include biofuels as part of the company’s offerings.
As technical partner of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, Petronas aims to supply advanced sustainable fuel in support of new engine regulations and logistics requirements.
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For example, Petronas’ dedicated refinery at Pengerang Integrated Complex is progressing on the development of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO), Bio-Naphtha and Bio-LPG.
With feedstock like crude algae oil, palm oil mill effluent (Pome), palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD), used cooking oil (UCO), tallow, mixed used vegetable oil, refined bleached and deodorised palm oil (RBDPO), and euglena wax.
Through conversion technology palm’s empty fruit bunch is turned into bio-monoethylene glycol (MEG), a sustainable feedstock to decarbonise the packaging, textile, automotive and electronic industries.
Petronas Chemicals Group achieved the first drop of bio-MEG product from its pilot plant in 2021.
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Meanwhile, Boustead Holdings Berhad aims to represent the commitment to address and tackle Malaysia’s and the rest of the world’s carbon footprint through the sustainable process of algae and the subsequent extraction of carbon neutral crude algae oil and its carbon neutral by-product dry algae cake.
Its spokesperson said, “We are the first and only algae cultivation company to be certified by the International Sustainable Carbon Certification (ISCC).
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“UN Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei acknowledges our approach to align with the Sustainable Development Goals in our business.”
According to Boustead Holdings Berhad, the company has patented A-Map Technology for the cultivation and harvesting of algae.
One algae tank farm cultivates 4.5 tonnes of algae biomass per year and absorbs approximately five tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year. An acre can fit 400 recyclable tank farms.
Boustead’s 38,000 acres of algae plantations developed over 10 years, will absorb about 76 million tonnes of CO2 per year, thus helping Malaysia towards achieving net zero carbon emissions.
Each tank farm produces 2.25 tonnes of carbon neutral Crude Algae Oil (CAO) touted as the next generation oil and 2.25 tonnes of Dry Algae Cake (DAC) per year.
Refined CAO becomes sustainable aviation fuel, biodiesel, bio-gasoline, and Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO).
DAC can be used as animal feed, biomass for power generation, to make paper and also fertiliser.
Cultivating algae and producing CAO and DAC do not require fresh water and arable land, according to Boustead.
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