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Süd-Chemie to Manufacture Benefuel Solid Biodiesel Catalyst
8 January 2008
New Delhi-based Süd-Chemie India Pvt. Ltd. (SCIL), part of the Germany-based Süd-Chemie Group, one of the world’s largest catalyst companies, will manufacture the proprietary solid catalysts for Benefuel’s biodiesel production facilities globally. This marks Süd-Chemie’s entry into the biodiesel catalyst market.
Benefuel was formed from the merger of Gripp Industries and New Century Lubricants (NCL). NCL had entered into an exclusive worldwide agreement with National Chemical Laboratory (NCL-India) to demonstrate and commercialize a new NCL-India transesterification catalyst and process for the production of biodiesel fuels and bio-lubricants. (Earlier post.)
Conventional biodiesel processes use sodium or potassium hydroxides as catalysts to transesterify oils and fats into biodiesel. These hydroxides are consumed during the production process, and must be washed from the product.
Benefuel’s ENSEL process uses a dual metal solid catalyst (DMC) that is not consumed during transesterification, thereby eliminating the need for fuel washing and subsequent wastewater treatment. The DMC effectively refines a wide range of oil feedstocks, including both vegetable oils and animal fats up to 100% free fatty acids (FFA). In addition to high-quality biodiesel, the Benefuel process delivers a 98 to 99% pure, technical-grade glycerin.
Süd-Chemie has long been active in the research, development and production of heterogeneous catalysts, and Benefuel’s exclusive license to commercialize technology from NCL created an opportunity for SCIL to expand into new catalyst applications and to apply some of its own proprietary technologies to the biodiesel market. We are pleased to partner with NCL and Benefuel in commercializing the solid catalyst technology.
—Arshia Lalljee, Managing Director of Süd-Chemie India
In October, Benefuel in partnership with Seymour Biofuels announced plans to build a 10 million gallon per year biodiesel plant in Indiana that uses Benefuel’s solid catalyst process.
January 8, 2008 in Biodiesel, Catalysts | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by: alex | Jan 16, 2008 3:06:24 PM
