Incorporated in 1998, SBI Bioenergy Inc. is an Alberta company that has had great success in developing world-class environment-friendly renewable energy technologies.
Inder Pal Singh, president and CEO of SBI, says the mini-refinery being built in Edmonton will demonstrate the proprietary technology that turns vegetable oils, animal fats and tall oil, a by-product of the pulp and paper industry, into renewable diesel and jet fuel. The pilot plant is expected to produce up to 10 million liters of biofuel a year.
With the facility expected to open in 2016, at the groundbreaking ceremony Monday, Singh said, “This is a critical next step for SBI. The pilot plant will demonstrate the technology and attract the strategic partners SBI needs to successfully transition to full-scale production. The company’s goal: production of up to 240 million liters a year by 2018.”
SBI’s patented and integrated proprietary hydrogen-free catalytic process for biofuels uses no water, no hydrogen and generates no waste. The process not only recovers energy but recycles it as well. The process was recognized in BioDiesel Magazine in an article explaining the “Continuous Process Intensification for Next Generation Biodiesel Technology.”
Drop-in fuels – The next generation of renewable biofuels
Drop-in fuels are indistinguishable from and perform similarly to petroleum fuels. Singh is hopeful that his products will eventually replace biodiesel and ethanol. The good thing about renewable diesel is that it can give us higher savings in greenhouse gases than biodiesel, because a higher concentration can be blended into regular fuel.
Petrol refineries in Canada prefer to buy renewable diesel over biodiesel because the fuel is already compatible with existing infrastructure, distribution systems and engines, according to SBI as reported in EIN News. The company touts its catalytic technology method of producing renewable diesel as a “Process Intensification and Continuous Flow-Through Reaction.” Singh also says it’s the “only technology known that can convert biodiesel into renewable diesel.”
