South Korean petroleum refiner S-Oil begins coprocessing biobased feedstocks

Photo: S-Oil Corp.

South Korean petroleum refiner S-Oil Corp. announced Jan. 29 that it started to include biobased feedstocks such as used cooking oil, byproducts of palm oil and waste plastic-based pyrolysis oil into its refining and chemical processes to produce low-carbon energy and ecofriendly chemical products. 

As it will coprocess crude oil, biobased feedstocks and waste plastic-based pyrolysis oil in the existing refining process, S-Oil will produce biofuels with low carbon intensity such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel as well as biobased petrochemical feedstocks such as naphtha and polypropylene. 

The incorporation of biobased feedstocks into the refining process is a first for a refiner in Korea, according to S-Oil.    

This comes after the approval for the demonstration of the coprocessing of waste plastic-based pyrolysis oil in July and biobased feedstocks in December under the government’s regulatory sandbox program, a special deregulation program.

The company has now started to use the feedstocks after promptly completing preparatory work such as the installation of feedstock-injection facilities.

It plans to expand the volume for ecofriendly products by assessing yield changes in the product portfolio and the impact on the production processes while adjusting the mix ratio of new alternatives such as biobased feedstocks and waste-plastic pyrolysis oil over the next two years. 

To keep pace with the global decarbonization trend, S-Oil signed a partnership with Samsung C&T to develop new businesses on hydrogen and biofuels in 2021 and sealed a partnership with Dansuk to build supply chains of ecofriendly, low-carbon fuels and chemical feedstocks last December. 

“The company will seek International Sustainability and Carbon Certification of fuels produced from alternative feedstocks to accelerate green energy and chemical businesses and will also specify their carbon reduction effect, thereby contributing to the government’s green-energy policies and building a circular economy,” a company spokesperson said.