Pixabay
Pixabay

Clean fuels company Axens is set to provide technology to Chinese refining and petrochemical firm Shandong Haike Chemical Co (Haike Chemicals) for its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project in China.

Haike Chemicals would be retrofitting its existing equipment with Axens’ Vegan technology, Axens said on 2 August.

The company said the transaction was the first sale of its Vegan technology in Asia.

According to Axens, its Vegan technology processes up to 100% of any kind of lipid – including wastes from agriculture and food industry – to produce renewable fuels that can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 80% compared with conventional aviation fuel.

Based on a two-step process, the technology can process a wide range of feedstocks such as vegetable oils, animal fats, tall oil and used cooking oil to produce SAF or renewable diesel and can be applied in both standalone and integrated refineries, according to the company.

Haike Chemicals aimed to have its first dedicated SAF unit on stream within the next year before rolling out the process to other units, Axens said.

A subsidiary of the Haike Group, Haike Chemicals operates in the Chinese province of Shandong and supplies fuel and petrochemical products to customers including PetroChina and Sinopec.

According to its website, Axens Group provides a range of solutions for the conversion of oil and biomass to cleaner fuels, the production and purification of major petrochemical intermediates, the chemical recycling of plastics, treatment and conversion options for natural gas and water treatment and carbon capture.

The company’s range includes technologies, equipment, furnaces, modular units, catalysts, adsorbents and related services.