Engineering expertise aims to enable a buildable asset while managing risk reduction
Brazilian companies Cemvita and Radix have announced progress in front-end engineering for a first-of-its-kind circular bio-oil project in Brazil, focused on converting crude glycerin, a biodiesel byproduct, into ultra-low carbon intensity bio-oil used as a feedstock to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other advanced biofuels.
Brazil has historically been a global leader in biofuel, primarily through bioethanol. This collaborative project takes a different path.
Cemvita’s proprietary biomanufacturing platform converts crude glycerin into a versatile bio-oil that can be upgraded into high-value, drop-in feedstocks, including co-processing in existing refineries and/or Hydro-processed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA)-based SAF, expanding both the feedstock base and the decarbonization potential of the fuel value chain, according to a press statement.
The collaboration focuses on translating Cemvita’s biomanufacturing process, de-risked through years of pilot and scale-up work, into an industrially executable configuration.
Leverage
Leveraging its deep engineering expertise and global experience supporting large-scale industrial projects, Radix is responsible for developing the engineering, industrial design basis, and scalability framework for the project.
Radix, a technology solutions services company delivering innovative industrial solutions, worked alongside Cemvita to define operating boundaries, pressure-test assumptions, and align the biology with real-world industrial constraints. The result advances the project toward a buildable asset and materially reduces execution risk.
“Cemvita has developed a unique and differentiated technology. Our close collaboration aims to ensure that this technology can be engineered, built, and operated at an industrial scale with the discipline and quality required for long-term success,” stated Luiz Mello, Head of Energy, Radix.
“Together with Radix, we successfully tropicalized a project initially designed for the U.S., adapting equipment selection, utilities, layout, and integration strategies to Brazil,” commented Luciano Zamberlan, VP of Operations and Engineering, Cemvita.
