The waste-based oil would be used as a feedstock for its trademark NExBTL renewable diesel, the company said in a statement.
Microbial oil produced from waste and residues has been successful in the laboratory and has already been successfully refined into NExBTL diesel.
"Our research is currently concentrating on ways of extending the range of raw materials we can use for producing NExBTL, and we're particularly focusing on non-food materials capable of making a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions," Neste Oil's biotechnology manager Markku Patajoki said.
Neste said it is currently evaluating a number of alternative raw materials for processing using yeasts and moulds such as straw or glycerol, a waster product from traditional biodiesel production.
Neste said its emphasis will now shift to evaluating microbial oil's potential for pilot-scale production, adding that commercial production from the process is unlikely before 2015 at the earliest.
Neste has committed over Eur1 billion ($1.45 billion) of capital investments for the NExBTL biodiesel projects, which produce a high-quality renewable diesel than can be made using use a variety of feedstocks including palm oil, rapeseed oil and animal fat.
China Chemical Weekly: http://news.chemnet.com/en/detail-1411716.html
