Rentech proposes 9 Mgy renewable diesel, power plant in California; wood, agricultural waste as feedstocks

In California, Rentech announced plans to construct a 9 Mgy renewable diesel plant that will also produce 35 MW of power, in Rialto.

The plant will provide sufficient power for 30,000 homes and the fuel equivalent for 18,000 cars at average residential usage rates. The plant is expected to easily surpass the standards of the new California Low Carbon Fuel Standard, using the SilvaGas biomass gasification technology to produce synthesis gas from wood-based biomass.

The original SilvaGas plant in Burlington, Vermont was constructed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, Battelle Columbus Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The conditioned syngas will be converted by the Rentech Process in a commercial scale reactor to finished, ultra-clean products such as synthetic diesel and naphtha using upgrading technologies under an alliance between Rentech and UOP. Renewable electric power will be produced at the facility by using conventional high-efficiency gas turbine technology.

The power is anticipated to be sold to local utilities under the California RPS program.

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