Brazilian producer Be8 set to begin manufacturing newly branded, double-distilled biodiesel for use as B100
The Brazilian biodiesel producer Be8, formerly known as BSBios, is planning to begin production of a newly branded biodiesel product in November called “BeVant.”
BeVant is an advanced biodiesel with a high degree of purity that can be used at 100 percent concentration (B100) in any diesel vehicle without the need for engine modifications.
It is a double-distilled methyl ester resulting from a process that generates quality and performance gains, which allows the product to be used in its neat form without blending or engine modifications, according to Be8.
After the first phase of biodiesel production, the product undergoes double distillation and receives chemical additives in a process patented by Be8, which results in a diesel substitute with a high degree of purity and ester content of 99 percent.
The fuel also features a green color to set it apart from other biofuels.
The company is currently waiting for a license from the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) to start the operation.
Initial BeVant production capacity of 28 million liters (7.4 million gallons) per year is expected.
Negotiations are already underway, and the first sales contracts are being signed with clients in the agricultural, urban-transportation and mining sectors for direct supply to companies that want to decarbonize their fleet emissions by up to 50 percent, with deliveries expected by the end of 2024.
According to Be8, the higher ester content reduces carbon-monoxide emissions by up to 50 percent and particulate-matter emissions by 85 percent.
“The great advantage of Be8 BeVant is that, unlike other technologies that depend on future infrastructure and investments, it is ready to be used immediately in current engines and new truck versions at a competitive cost,” said Erasmo Carlos Battistella, president of Be8.
This advanced biodiesel costs half the price of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), also known as renewable diesel, and is about 15 percent more expensive than regular biodiesel in Brazil, according to Be8.
The new biodiesel variant has proven quality, higher lubricity and the engine-testing phase on a test bench has confirmed its advantages and characteristics, the company said.
Proofs of concept were conducted in partnership with engine manufacturers and fleet operators.
The company noted the innovation that culminated in BeVant stems from experience Be8 gained in Europe and the United States, including operating a biodiesel plant in Switzerland.
Be8 also expects to export BeVant. The company has sales offices in Geneva, Switzerland, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, responsible for marketing biofuel production from the plants in Passo Fundo and Marialva in Brazil, La Paloma in Paraguay and Domdidier in Switzerland.
Depending on market demand, Be8 plans to expand its production at its Passo Fundo and Marialva units.
“We are facing an immediate solution for companies seeking to meet their short-term decarbonization goals,” Battistella said.
The product has the potential to fuel generators and meet the demands of road, rail, waterway and maritime modes.
About 60 percent of the biodiesel produced by Be8 today uses soybean oil, but the share of animal fat and used cooking oil has been growing, a company spokesperson told Biobased Diesel Daily®. BeVant will be made from the same mix of feedstock.
In addition to its new BeVant line, the company will continue to maintain traditional biodiesel production that is required per Brazilian law for blending at 14 percent with petroleum diesel, which is expected to increase to 15 percent in March.
