Some of the changes in the specifications of biodiesel used in Brazil under debate at the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels indicate a restriction on the demand for certain raw materials, such as animal fat and Palm oil, as discussions about product quality mature, industry insiders said.
The reduction in the use of beef tallow, the third most used raw material in the manufacture of biodiesel in Brazil, or in palm oil would be an alternative to reduce problems in the quality of biofuel.
This could affect companies like JBS, Minerva and BBF.
On the other hand, changes in biodiesel specifications would benefit “players” who work with soybean oil, with the potential to increase the dominance of this input.
The regulatory agency, which has been assessing the situation since July 2020, said it does not intend to exclude any raw materials from the process in a definition expected to take between two and three months.
The resolution aims to improve the quality of biodiesel and solve problems identified by the automotive market and by distributors of fuels.
Among these problems are, for example, oxidation and degradation of biodiesel, decantation of material at the bottom of tanks, clogging of filters and freezing during the winter, mainly in the south of the country.
Among the requirements discussed in the ANP that may affect the demand for animal fat and palm oil are the reduction of the maximum limit of monoglycerides, which would go from the current 0.7% by mass to 0.4% by mass, and the so-called Test of Cold Immersion Filtration, which would be a barrier to such raw materials, according to two sources in the productive sector.
“This will lead to the need to change the mix of raw materials. It would be necessary to reduce mainly the participation of animal fat, which is of great concern to companies. Imagine a company that comes from a refrigerator. It will have to buy more vegetable oil, a raw material outside its production chain”, said a source from the productive sector, on condition of anonymity.
“This is harming the sebum and the palm. You will not be able to make biodiesel with a certain percentage greater than 20% to 30%. It means limiting producers,” said a second source.
The ANP did not indicate any percentage for the use of biodiesel raw materials.
The agency stated that it evaluates the approximately 200 suggestions it received in the public consultation and that, due to the complexity of the topic, they are under “detained studies and debates with a view to deciding whether to comply with them or not”.
“There is no selection or adoption of preferred raw materials for the production of biodiesel, and the producer can use any that he deems convenient,” the ANP told Reuters.
"The mandatory thing is that the final product meets the standardized specifications", said the regulator, in the note, adding that the eventual adoption of limits or parameters pointed out by the producers "do not make the use of the mentioned raw materials unfeasible".
The coordinator of the Internal Market of the Brazilian Association of Animal Recycling, Lucas Portela, criticizes the course of the discussions for assessing that there is no guarantee that they will bring greater efficiency or quality.
“We observe that there is no deeper study of these changes, a broader research group. Logical. There are all technical opinions from the ANP, but we think there is a need for further scientific research”, said Portela.
He admitted that an eventual mandatory change the sector to increase the portion destined to the production of soap and also the exports of tallow.
When contacted, the large companies in the sector that work with beef tallow as a raw material, JBS and Minerva, did not comment on the matter.
The same happened with BBF, which works with palm oil.
The changes in the biodiesel specifications evaluated aim to avoid freezing problems and, consequently, clogging of filters and injectors in vehicle engines.
According to Embrapa Agroenergia researcher, Itânia Soares, the saturations of soy-based biodiesel, for example, and that produced from animal fat are different, which justifies the analysis of the sector regarding the impossibility of meeting these specifications.
“This characteristic gives soy-based biodiesel greater fluidity. Animal fat is the most problematic because it has more saturation chains. For example: if you make biodiesel from just soy, it is 'pretty' at 20°C. If you make it with animal tallow, especially beef, it will solidify in a short time”, said Soares, adding that the same occurs in relation to palm oil.
For Soares, the reviews by the ANP are valid, but the quality of the current Brazilian biodiesel does not lose to that of biodiesel from Canada, the United States and European countries.
“Our specifications are already very strict. We believe that there are many problems with good practices. If you are not careful in transport, even after mixing it with diesel, you will definitely have contamination problems,” he said.
According to ANP data, beef fat is the third most used raw material in the production of biodiesel in Brazil this year, accounting for 7.9% of the total, behind soybean oil with 66% and fatty materials with 16.6%. of production, which mixes raw materials from the reprocessing of production by-products, including animal fats.
In fourth place, with 7.2%, comes the group that includes chicken and pork fat and cotton, canola, corn and used frying oils.
Finally, there are palm and dendê oils, with 2.3% together.
Sources: investing.com
