New biodiesel strains offer measurable gains

Extensive research and development of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) as a renewable and environmentally friendly fuel for diesel engines has been carried out by various OEMs and Tier 1s over the past decade. Its use has been evaluated for a wide variety of applications, including on-road commercial vehicles, agricultural machines and marine engines. HVOs usually are refined from vegetable oil feedstock by hydrocracking and then hydrogenating vegetable oil. This process reduces the size of the molecules in the triglycerides or fatty acids while also adding hydrogen to them.

The advantage of hydrotreating vegetable oils for this purpose is that it produces a high-quality fuel without compromising engine performance, exhaust aftertreatment devices or exhaust emissions. HVOs offer potential environmental benefits even over traditional biodiesel, including tailpipe emissions in the form of nitrogen oxide (NOx), CO₂ and other pollutants that are harmful to the earth's atmosphere.