Technology · Bioenergy & climate / Biofuels & bioenergy

Tall-oil biorefining

Hydrotreatment of crude tall oil — a residue of pulp production — into renewable diesel and naphtha, commercial since the UPM Lappeenranta biorefinery started in 2015.

Maturity 9/9 Risk: medium Advanced Biofuels, SAF & Biorefining 2.0 Forestry Biorefining EU verified 2026-10-16 · 6 Sources

1 · What it gives

Tall-oil biorefining is a hydrotreatment process that turns crude tall oil, a pulp-production residue, into renewable diesel and naphtha. These fuels are sustainable alternatives to fossil diesel and naphtha. The technology reached commercial maturity in 2015 with the UPM Lappeenranta biorefinery; capacity of tall-oil-based biofuels was expected to rise to about 0.34 million tonnes a year by 2022.

2 · What it replaces 6

D2	Biodiesel, renewable diesel (HVO) and SAF instead of fossil diesel and heating oil Replaces: Fossil diesel in transport and generators; gas-oil heating; jet fuel (via SAF blends); also disciplines waste cooking oil and tallow that …	FUEL
D1	Pulp bleaching with xylanase enzyme pre-bleaching and ECF/TCF processes (oxygen, peroxide, ozone) — instead of elemental chlorine bleaching; with biological effluent treatment Replaces: Elemental chlorine (Cl2) and hypochlorite bleaching of kraft/sulfite pulp; reduces chlorine dioxide demand in ECF	CHEM
D1	Feed enzymes (phytase) and fermentation amino acids instead of inorganic phosphate and excess crude protein Replaces: Dicalcium phosphate / rock-phosphate P supplements in pig and poultry feed; excess soybean-meal crude protein (ammonia, nitrate pollution); …	FEED
D2	Petroleum-contaminated soil and drill cuttings cleaned by bioremediation (landfarming, biopiles, bioaugmentation, biostimulation) instead of excavation to landfill, incineration/thermal desorption and chemical oxidation Replaces: Dig and dump" of oily soil to hazardous-waste landfill; incineration or thermal desorption; in-situ chemical oxidation (persulfate, Fenton …	SERV
D1	Soil-biodegradable mulch films (certified to EN 17033: starch/PLA/PBAT/PHA blends) and paper/organic mulches — instead of conventional polyethylene (PE) mulch films that fragment into soil microplastics Replaces: Non-degradable low-density polyethylene mulch films (and so-called "oxo-degradable" films, banned in the EU since 2021)	PACK
D1	Bio-based and soil-biodegradable plastics instead of fossil commodity plastics (PET, LDPE, PS) and their microplastics Replaces: Fossil polyethylene/polypropylene/PS/PET in flexible and rigid packaging; intentional microplastics (restricted in the EU since 2023); …	PACK

3 · How to implement 4 steps

1
Pretreatment
Pretreat the crude tall oil.
2
Hydrotreatment
Hydrotreat the feed.
3
Separation and gas purification
Separate the hydrocarbons and purify the recycle gas.
4
Fractionation
Fractionate into diesel and naphtha.

4 · Who delivers

Matched suppliers (matched automatically)

Industrias Vepinsa	Mexico	Producer	active
Suzano (B3: SUZB3)	Brazil	Research / RTO	active
Stora Enso	Finland	Research / RTO	active
SGTech - Zero Carbon, Sustainable Farming	Israel	Research / RTO	active
Adecoagro (NYSE: AGRO)	Argentina	Producer	active
BM GreenTech Berhad	Malaysia	Research / RTO	active
Godavari Biorefineries (NSE)	India	Research / RTO	active
Orizon Valorização de Resíduos (B3: ORVR3)	Brazil	Producer	active
Shandong Bailong Chuangyuan (BLD Bio)	China	Research / RTO	active
Sunbird Group	Zambia	Producer	active
True Eco Sdn Bhd	Malaysia	Distributor	active
UPM-Kymmene	Finland	Producer	active

Leading companies and institutes (from the brief)

UPM Biofuels is named as the primary provider operating at commercial scale. Pulp producers and other biorefiners are matched by the portal under Advanced biofuels and Forestry.

5 · Rules & route to market

Route into Russia / EAEU: FUEL · EAEU conformity procedures / accredited bodies
declaration of conformity (testing extra)
Information, not legal advice — confirm the procedure for your product. (2026-10-06)

United States

The sources reviewed on 2026-10-16 identified no the US regulator or standard specific to this technology. Treat the route as case-by-case and ask for a check.

European Union

Regulation is mainly driven by EU policy: the Renewable Energy Directive and the Indirect Land Use Change policy.

China

The sources reviewed on 2026-10-16 identified no China regulator or standard specific to this technology. Treat the route as case-by-case and ask for a check.

6 · Money: tenders & grants

Grant	Development of cell-free protein synthesis platforms for discovery and/or production of biologicals European Commission · EU	Apr 13, 2027 179 days
Grant	Fostering common farmland birds and mammals for resilient food production systems European Commission · EU	Sep 22, 2027 341 days
Grant	Unleashing the potential of sustainable small-scale aquatic food production and recreational fisheries for … European Commission · EU	Sep 23, 2027 342 days

7 · Tech stack & innovations

Main risks from the sources: feedstock availability, price volatility of alternative energy such as natural gas, and technical challenges in refining.

Sources 6

Demoplants21.best research.eu — demoplants21.best-research.eu 2026-10-16
Upmbiofuels.com — www.upmbiofuels.com 2026-10-16
Upmbiofuels.com — www.upmbiofuels.com 2026-10-16
Sciencedirect.com — www.sciencedirect.com 2026-10-16
Upm.com — www.upm.com 2026-10-16
Upmbiofuels.com — www.upmbiofuels.com 2026-10-16