A group of Finnish companies are looking into turning straw into renewable diesel. This news release from Neste Oil says the company has teamed up with Raisioagro and TTS to study the feasibility of a large-scale straw harvesting chain to make the green fuel.

Microbial oil technology developed by Neste Oil enables straw to be used as a feedstock for producing NExBTL renewable diesel. Neste Oil has tested processing of straw for some years and pilot-scale microbial oil production trials were started last year when Europe’s first microbial oil pilot plant was commissioned at Porvoo.

“Microbial oil produced from industrial and agricultural residues, such as straw, is one of our potential future feedstocks for producing NExBTL renewable diesel,” says Lars Peter Lindfors, Neste Oil’s Senior Vice President, Technology. “We have already tested the use of straw for producing microbial oil at our pilot plant at Porvoo and the results have been promising. This latest research project will give us valuable new information on the true potential straw offers as a feedstock for producing renewable fuel in Finland and on the logistics chain needed to supply straw in the quantity required for an industrial process like ours.”

The researchers hope the straw-based renewable diesel will be a boon to rural areas.

Neste Oil produces renewable fuels from 10 different feedstocks.