DS Danseok Improves Biodiesel Process: "Securing Profitability and Feedstock Competitiveness"

DS Danseok, a company specializing in resource circulation energy, announced on September 8 that it will improve the efficiency of biodiesel production by introducing an enzymatic reaction process.

The company expects that by adopting this process, it can minimize investment costs while increasing profitability, diversifying feedstocks, and securing additional raw materials for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Previously, in August, DS Danseok completed a performance test of the enzymatic reaction process at its Pyeongtaek Plant 1 and began full-scale operation. The company plans to complete the process installation at its Siwha plant by the end of this year. The process will be added to existing facilities (retrofit), so there will be no separate production shutdown.

The enzymatic reaction process is a method of producing biodiesel by introducing and reacting enzyme catalysts in the conventional biodiesel manufacturing process. When the content of free fatty acids (FFA) in the feedstock oil is high during biodiesel production, problems such as increased pretreatment costs and reduced yield can occur.

Within the industry, competition for sourcing feedstocks with low FFA content is intense, and the prices of such feedstocks inevitably rise. However, the enzymatic reaction process enables the production of biodiesel that meets quality standards even from low-grade feedstocks with high FFA content.

DS Danseok has applied its proprietary continuous process technology to maintain production capacity and quality in biodiesel manufacturing while improving yield by approximately 3 percentage points.

A DS Danseok representative stated, "About 90% of the cost of biodiesel comes from raw materials, so diversifying feedstocks is a critical issue. With the introduction of this process, we expect to improve yield and profitability by utilizing lower-grade feedstocks."

The representative added, "By diversifying our feedstocks, we can now allocate the feedstocks previously used for biodiesel to SAF pretreatment, thereby strengthening our supply chain and advancing the establishment of an SAF production base."