Rio de Janeiro – Petrobras Biofuel has already fully mastered the technological process for producing biodiesel from the castor seed. The fuel was obtained by mixing 30% castor oil and 70% sunflower oil, both produced through family farming under the company’s oleaginous plant supply programs.
The work was developed by the Petrobras Research Centre (Cenpes) at the Guamaré Plant, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, in a continuous operation regime, and is in keeping with the technical specifications of the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuel Agency (ANP).
The use of castor seed as a raw material for biodiesel production is also a reality at the Candeias plant, in the state of Bahia. On November 30th, the unit made its first delivery of biodiesel containing castor oil. The shipment is part of a 925 tonne batch that is being delivered to distribution companies.
The Petrobras Biofuel commercial plants had their annual production capacity increased by 90%. The units’ output went from 57 million to 108 million litres. With this increase, the company’s installed capacity reaches 324 million litres of biodiesel per year.
Petrobras Biofuel has also purchased a 50% at the BSBIOS Marialva plant, with an investment of 55 million reals (US$ 31 million). Located in the municipality of Marialva, in the state of Paraná, the plant will have a production capacity of 120 million litres of biodiesel per year and should start operating in the second quarter of 2010. The plant bears the “Social Fuel Label,” a wide-ranging agricultural supply program for the Brazilian semiarid region.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
