Biodisel produced from fish waste. (Photo: Neste Oil/FIS)

Diesel generated from fish waste

SINGAPORE
Friday, June 15, 2012, 23:20 (GMT + 9)

Neste Oil has again expanded the range of renewable raw materials it uses by beginning to produce NExBTL renewable diesel from waste fat sourced from the fish processing industry at its Singapore refinery. The fat comes from the gutting waste generated when processing freshwater pangasius farmed in Southeast Asia after the fillets have been removed for human consumption.

After the fillets have been removed, the fat content of the gutting waste can be as high as 30-35 per cent. Although pangasius has a high fat content, its fat contains very little omega-3 or 6 fatty acids compared to the fat from seawater fish such as salmon.

The chemicals and antibiotics used in farming the fish can also build up in the fat, which limits or can completely prevent it from being used for human consumption.

Biodiesel samples. (Photo: Neste Oil/FIS)

As with all the other renewable inputs used by Neste Oil, this batch of waste fish fat complies with the sustainability requirements of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive. The batch can be traced all the way back to the fish farm. Waste fish fat is also accepted as a raw material for renewable fuel in the US.

The NExBTL renewable diesel produced from the batch cuts greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 84 per cent when compared to fossil diesel and calculated over the fuel’s entire life cycle. The calculation is based on preliminary emissions figures covering the various stages of the supply chain from the waste fish fat supplier in Southeast Asia to Neste Oil’s Singapore refinery and from there to the market in Europe, where fat from fish processing industry is classified as waste.

Using NExBTL diesel also reduces tailpipe and fine particulate emissions significantly.

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