Neste Oil plans to build a biopropane unit at its refinery in Rotterdam, the Finland-based refiner said. Neste will start work on the €60m project immediately and plans to begin sales of biopropane by the end of 2016. The unit’s capacity is expected to total 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes/year of biopropane, Port of Rotterdam said in its press release.
The new unit will purify and separate biopropane from sidestream gases produced by the refinery.
"The process will increase the added value of this sidestream significantly, as the gas in question has been sold as fuel for power plant use up until now," Neste said. Biopropane is similar to fossil-based propane and is suitable for use in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) applications, the company added.