Excellent results from cold-weather tests on NExBTL renewable diesel in Canada

Neste Oil has been one of the participants in the Alberta Renewable Diesel Demonstration project held in Canada between 2006 and 2009, and the results from tests on the company’s NExBTL renewable diesel there have proved very impressive. The major sponsors of the project have been the Canadian federal authorities, the Alberta provincial authorities, and Shell Canada.

NExBTL renewable diesel performed excellently in both laboratory and field tests, highlighting the fuel’s suitability for use in cold conditions. Using conventional biodiesel in cold weather, in contrast, calls for special measures to keep fuel tanks warm, special materials, and the addition of expensive components during fuel manufacture.

The project covered a number of fuels produced from different renewable raw materials and using different processes blended into conventional fuel at 2% and 5% content. A total of 75 trucks and buses of various sizes were used over a period of 10 months at temperatures as low as -44 °C.

The Alberta Renewable Diesel Demonstration project is the largest trial of its type in Canada and has been used to investigate the performance of diesel fuels produced from renewable raw materials at low temperatures. The Canadian government has announced that it plans to implement a renewable fuels standard requiring the Canadian diesel pool to include 2% renewable fuel by 2012 should trials in Canadian conditions prove successful.

Neste Oil Corporation

Hanna Maula
Director, Corporate Communications

Further information:

Markku Honkanen, Technical Advisor, Neste Oil Corporation, tel. +358 (0)50 458 4827
Neville Fernandes, Business Development Manager, Neste Oil Corporation, tel. +1 713 407 4418

Neste Oil in brief

Neste Oil Corporation is a refining and marketing company concentrating on low-emission, high-quality traffic fuels. The company’s strategy is based on growing both its oil refining and premium-quality renewable diesel businesses. Neste Oil’s refineries are located in Porvoo and Naantali and have a combined crude oil refining capacity of approx. 260,000 barrels a day. The company had net sales of EUR 15 billion in 2008 and employs around 5,200 people. Neste Oil is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. www.nesteoil.com.

NExBTL renewable diesel

NExBTL technology is a proprietary process developed by Neste Oil for producing diesel fuel from renewable raw materials with a chemical structure equivalent to that of fossil diesel. The process enables properties such as cetane number and cold-temperature performance to be adjusted to meet different needs, while guaranteeing an aromatics- and sulfur-free fuel that is of higher quality than fossil diesel. NExBTL renewable diesel is compatible with all diesel engines and all current fuel distribution and logistics systems.

Studies on the entire lifecycle of the product have shown that, when produced from sustainable raw materials, NExBTL renewable diesel offers 40-80% lower greenhouse gas emissions than the best fossil diesel fuel. Extensive trials have shown that NExBTL also reduces tailpipe emissions of particulates and NOx significantly compared to conventional diesel fuel, thereby benefiting air quality.