South Korea to have its First Hydro-Treated Vegetable Oil and Sustainable Aviation Fuel Plant

South Korea’s mega-corporations LG Chem and Dansuk Industrial have planned a joint investment for the launch of hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant at Daeson location. This investment will give Korea its first HVO and SAF production facility that is scheduled to commence in 2024.

HVO is a paraffinic biofuel derived from the hydrocracking of vegetable oils (like rapeseeds, palm oil, soybean etc.) and is typically used in the pure or blended form in diesel engines as an alternative for conventional fuels like gasoline, kerosene, diesel. The demand for HVO also referred to as “green biodiesel” is reaching new heights owing to its environment-friendly characteristics.

The availability of HVO raw materials in the vicinity would strengthen the production base at the Daesan that will be the hub of more projects lined up for the manufacture of thermoplastic polymers like acetonitrile butadiene styrene, absorbent polymer and polyvinyl chloride etc. that have wide applications in the household and industrial goods. On the other hand, Dansuk has planned the commissioning of a second SAF plant by the year 2025 that will have a production capacity of 300 KTPA. The facility will be built at Gusan and will run on the feedstocks coming from the palm oil and acid oils effluents. Baked by the upcoming projects, both the partners aspire to expand their eco-friendly product portfolio that is gaining immense popularity in the country due to stringent environmental laws.

As per ChemAnalyst – “HVO is an expensive fuel, and its consumption has increased exponentially over the years Biodiesel production capacity grew by almost 10% between 2019 and 2021 and the expansions are expected to double in the two-year period whereupon a drop in biodiesel prices can also be expected. The HVO production in South Korea will reduce the country’s dependence on oil imports and will be a key source of revenue generation.”