SK Chemicals tests biodiesel blends in marine fuel

In South Korea, Reuters reports that biofuel maker SK Chemicals, has started tests on blending its biodiesel with petroleum-based fuels to create low-sulphur marine oil that will comply with new International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) green shipping fuel rules set to kick in in January 2020.

SK Chemicals is also looking at increasing biofuels output by 50% in order to meet demand from the shipping industry, An Jung-bum, head of the company’s energy& petrochemical business, told Reuters. “We see there will be great needs for marine biofuels because they are sulphur-free and that gives an edge to biofuels,” An told Reuters.

According to Reuters, “SK Chemicals can produce 500,000 kilolitres per year of biodiesel and biofuel oil, currently mainly used for fuel blending for domestic transportation and power generation. The company primarily uses palm fatty acid distillate, a non-edible palm-oil, as a feedstock from Indonesia and Malaysia. Last year, it began exports with about 20,000 kilolitres of biodiesel shipped to Europe.”