Rio de Janeiro – Petrobras is working in the development of a pioneering technology to produce micro-algae biodiesel – an alternative to the oil-based fuels and that can be used in cars or any other vehicle with a diesel engine.
The information was relayed to Agência Brasil in an exclusive interview by Juliana Vaz, the Biotechnology manager of the Petrobras Research Center (Cenpes). Produced from renewable sources (among them, soy oil, animal fat and cotton oil) or from animal tallow, the biofuel emits fewer pollutants than diesel. The micro-algae biological process produces a biomass used to extract the oil, which will be the input to produce the biofuel.
The state-owned company aims to produce the fuel from micro-algae in large scale. “The biodiesel produced has already been submitted to lab qualification tests, under the standards of the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) and the preliminary results were promising,” said Vaz. The product has now advanced to a pilot project.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani