Renewable Diesel

Renewable diesel, usually hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), is a paraffinic drop-in diesel made by hydrotreating vegetable oils, used cooking oil, or animal fats into straight-chain alkanes. Unlike FAME it contains no oxygen and no esters, so it meets EN 15940 (and ASTM D975) and runs in unmodified marine diesel engines with no blend limit. Cetane number is high, the EN 15940 minimum is 70 against 45 to 55 for fossil diesel, giving smooth ignition. It avoids the oxidation, water-uptake, and microbial problems of FAME and stores like mineral distillate. Well-to-wake CO2 can fall 50 to 90 percent versus fossil diesel depending on feedstock, counting as a biofuel under FuelEU Maritime.