South Korea’s S-OIL begins including bio-based feedstocks in its oil refining processes

In South Korea, S-OIL on Monday started to include bio-based feedstocks such as used cooking oil, byproducts of the palm oil, and waste plastic-based pyrolysis oil into the refining and chemical processes to produce low-carbon energy and eco-friendly chemical products. 

As it will co-process crude oil, bio-based feedstocks, and waste plastic-based pyrolysis oil in the existing refining process, it will produce biofuels with low carbon intensity such as sustainable aviation oil and next-generation biodiesel as well as bio-based petrochemical feedstocks such as naphtha and polypropylene. 

The incorporation of bio-based feedstocks into the refining process is a first for a refiner in Korea.    

This comes after the approval for the demonstration of the co-processing of waste plastic-based pyrolysis oil in July and bio-based feedstocks in December last year under the government’s regulatory sandbox program, a special deregulation program. The Company has now started to use the feedstocks after promptly completing preparatory work such as the installation of feedstock injection facilities. It plans to expand the volume for eco-friendly products by assessing yield changes in the product portfolio and the impact on the production processes while adjusting the mix ratio of new alternatives such as bio-based feedstocks and waste plastic pyrolysis oil over the next two years.