據烴加工網2月3日報道，根據幾個正在建設或即將開始開發的項目的公告，到2025年底，美國可再生柴油的產能可能會比目前的水平增加一倍以上。

美國可再生柴油產能增長背后的兩個因素是州和聯邦可再生燃料計劃目標的提高以及基于生物質的柴油稅收抵免。2022年《通脹削減法案》將生物質柴油稅抵免延長至2024年。據估計，2022年底，美國可再生柴油日產能為17萬桶，即26億加侖/年。盡管預計一些已宣布的項目將被推遲或取消，但如果所有項目如期運營，到2025年底，美國可再生柴油日產能將達到38.4萬桶，即59億加侖/年。

可再生柴油是一種與石油柴油化學等效的燃料，其性能特征幾乎相同。生物柴油的情況并非如此，生物柴油在化學上與石油柴油不同?？稍偕裼团c石油柴油的化學等效性使其優于生物柴油。其中一個優點是生產商可以在石油柴油管道中分配可再生柴油。第二個優點是，傳統柴油發動機可以消耗任何混合水平的可再生柴油，包括純可再生柴油，而且沒有明顯的副作用。相比之下，按體積計算，生物柴油只能與石油柴油混合在2%至20%之間。

在聯邦可再生燃料標準（RFS）、加州低碳燃料標準（LCFS）、俄勒岡州清潔燃料計劃和華盛頓州清潔燃料計劃等項目中，可再生柴油在現有燃料中的溫室氣體（GHG）減排得分最高。

由于可再生柴油與現有石油基礎設施中的石油柴油可互換，以及政府的激勵措施，美國對新的可再生柴油生產能力的投資最近大幅增長。2022年和2023年初，以下8家新的可再生柴油煉油廠開始生產：

*CVR Energy位于俄克拉荷馬州溫紐伍德的工廠

*Diamond Green Diesel在得克薩斯州亞瑟港的工廠

*HollyFrontier位于新墨西哥州阿特西亞的工廠

*HollyFrontier位于懷俄明州夏延的工廠

*蒙大拿可再生能源公司在蒙大拿大瀑布附近的工廠

*New Rise Renewables位于內華達州里諾市的工廠

*Seaboard Energy位于堪薩斯州Hugoton的工廠

*殼牌位于路易斯安那州諾科的工廠

目前計劃開始運行的生產能力可以使可再生柴油在西海岸的柴油消費中貢獻更大的份額。美國的大多數可再生柴油歷來都是在西海岸消費的，在那里，生產商可以利用RFS的RIN信用額度和州可再生燃料計劃的州信用額度。2021年，西海岸平均每天消耗52萬桶餾分燃料油。該地區也是美國最大的可再生柴油進口地區，如果國內可再生柴油產能按計劃增加，到2025年，可再生柴油將很快滿足其大部分餾分燃料需求。

郝芬 譯自 烴加工網

原文如下：

Domestic renewable diesel capacity could more than double through 2025

U.S. production capacity for renewable diesel could more than double from current levels by the end of 2025, based on several announcements for projects that are either under construction or could start development soon.

Two factors behind growing U.S. renewable diesel capacity are rising targets for state and federal renewable fuel programs and biomass-based diesel tax credits. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 extended the biomass-based diesel tax credits through 2024. We estimate U.S. renewable diesel production capacity was 170,000 barrels per day (b/d), or 2.6 billion gallons per year (gal/y), at the end of 2022. Although we expect some announced projects will be delayed or canceled, if all projects begin operations as scheduled, U.S. renewable diesel production capacity could reach 384,000 b/d, or 5.9 billion gal/y, by the end of 2025.

Renewable diesel is a fuel that is chemically equivalent to petroleum diesel and nearly identical in its performance characteristics. The same is not true of biodiesel, which is chemically different from petroleum diesel. Renewable diesel’s chemical equivalence to petroleum diesel gives it a couple of advantages over biodiesel. One advantage is that producers can distribute renewable diesel in petroleum diesel pipelines. A second advantage is that traditional diesel engines can consume any blend level of renewable diesel, including pure renewable diesel, with no significant side effects. In contrast, biodiesel can only be blended into petroleum diesel between 2% and 20% of the diesel fuel by volume.

Renewable diesel has some of the highest greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction scores among existing fuel pathways in programs such as the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the California Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), the Oregon Clean Fuels Program, and the Washington State Clean Fuels Program.

Investment in new renewable diesel production capacity has recently grown significantly in the United States because of renewable diesel’s interchangeability with petroleum diesel in existing petroleum infrastructure and because of government incentives. In 2022 and early 2023, the following eight new renewable diesel refineries began production:

*CVR Energy’s plant in Wynnewood, Oklahoma

*Diamond Green Diesel’s plant in Port Arthur, Texas

*HollyFrontier’s plant in Artesia, New Mexico

*HollyFrontier’s plant in Cheyenne, Wyoming

*Montana Renewables’ plant in Great Falls, Montana

*New Rise Renewables’ plant in Reno, Nevada

*Seaboard Energy’s plant in Hugoton, Kansas

*Shell’s plant in Norco, Louisiana

The production capacity currently scheduled to begin operation could allow renewable diesel to contribute to a greater share of West Coast diesel consumption. Most renewable diesel in the United States has historically been consumed on the West Coast, where producers can take advantage of both RIN credits from the RFS and state credits from one of the state renewable fuel programs. An average of 520,000 b/d of distillate fuel oil was consumed on the West Coast in 2021. The region, which is also the largest renewable diesel importing region in the United States, could soon meet the majority of its distillate fuel needs from renewable diesel by 2025 if domestic renewable diesel capacity does, in fact, increase as scheduled.