Petrobras and Vallourec Join to Invest in the Production of Bio-Oil from Eucalyptus Plantations

(PetroNotícias (Google Translation)) ... After trumpeting around the four corners that the company's focus would only be exploration and production, today (1st) it announces a partnership with Vallourec (one of the world leaders in premium tubular solutions) to evaluate opportunities for technological cooperation involving the production and use of the called bio-oil, oil of vegetable origin, 100% renewable, resulting from the condensation of gases produced during the transformation of wood from planted and certified Eucalyptus forests into charcoal. In the testing phase at the Petrobras Research and Innovation Center (Cenpes), bio-oil has the potential to be used as a raw material in the generation of renewable products.

Linked to Petrobras' BioRefining Program, which combines sustainability and value generation, bio-oil is part of another decarbonization front for the company, which has been investing in the use of renewable raw materials in the refining process. Committed to making its operations more environmentally sustainable, Petrobras' strategy is to use its innovative potential to generate decarbonization solutions and new business lines.

The agreement signed with Vallourec provides for studies and tests, already in progress, to use the purest by-product generated in Vallourec's charcoal production process, through its continuous carbonization equipment. It is an innovative technology in the production of charcoal, used as an input in steel mills, which also produces vegetable tar. This product behaves like a bio-oil – that is, an oil of vegetable origin – and can be used as a raw material for Petrobras' refining processes, such as the so-called fluid catalytic cracking (known as FCC), which provides products for use in petrochemicals. The tests will evaluate the behavior and efficiency of plant tar as a raw material for the refining process. READ MORE