Application of optimization tools to assess the impact of soybean oil co‐processing for diesel production on the refining sector under decarbonization scenarios: a case study for Brazil

Abstract

Hydrotreated vegetable oils can replace fossil diesel in its applications, long road freight transportation being the main one. These drop‐in fuels are produced from triglyceride‐based biomass via hydrotreating, a well‐established process in the refining sector. However, the utilization of this biofuel is not as consolidated as that of biodiesel. Biomass co‐processing in existing refineries is an approach to directly synthesize a blend of fossil diesel and hydrotreated vegetable oils. The present research shows that a refining sectoral model, integrated with a bioenergy model, can reveal how biomass co‐processing, specifically straight vegetable oils co‐processing in diesel and unstable products hydrotreating, impacts this industry under long‐term scenarios. To this end, the study applies ORION, an optimization model focused on the refining sector. BLOEM, an optimization model for bioenergy systems, provides biomass supply curves to ORION. Soybean oil co‐processing in Brazilian refineries serves as a case study. The main results show that refining and bioenergy models are valuable tools for assessing how integrating biomass into refineries affects this industry. It reveals, for instance, changes in investment patterns when vegetable oils are added, with higher investments in regions where biomass is cheaper and lower investments where it is more costly. It also shows higher utilization levels in hydrotreaters that are prioritized for co‐processing.