UPM's Renewable Diesel Plant Begins Commercial Production

Commercial operations have begun at UPM's Lappeenranta Biorefinery in Finland. The 32 MMgy plant uses a hydrotreatment process developed by UPM to produce BioVerno, a renewable diesel converted from crude tall oil from wood pulp. A large portion of their feedstock comes from their own mills in Finland. UPM has a sales agreement with North European Oil Trade, a wholesale organization of oil and biofuel products.

"The production process works as planned and the high-quality end product, UPM BioVerno diesel, fulfills customer specifications," said Petri Kukkonen, head of UPM Biofuels business. "The start-up phase of the biorefinery began in early autumn, and it has included customary new process and production related challenges. The biorefinery is a first of its kind in the world. We are now happy to move forward from start-up phase and be able to concentrate on the regular production process."