Vegas Renewable Diesel (VRD) recently acquired a site near Las Vegas where it plans to build the largest renewable diesel refinery in the Western United States.
Permitting is presently under way, the company said. Capacity is targeted at 100 million gallons per month of renewable diesel.
The primary feedstock to be processed by this new refinery will be used motor oil. VRD’s patented refining process is flexible, such that other petrochemical wastes, seed oils, and animal fats may be mixed together, VRD added.
The resulting fuel, which VRD calls “w2,” is fully ASTM D975 (petroleum diesel No. 2 standard) compliant and blendable. VRD says its w2 fuel has properties superior to petroleum-based diesel No. 2, including:
- Very low sulfur between 2 to 8 ppm, depending on the feedstock
- Very low NOx and other smog-inducing contaminants
- Good lubrication qualities for engines
- Good cold weather tolerance (low CFPP)
- Burns more completely, resulting in more power and less pollution
VRD also reports its w2 fuel “chemically improves” the petroleum-based fuel with which it’s blended.
“It’s the best fuel on the planet,” said Timothy D. Wetzel, VRD founder and w2 inventor, who has researched and experimented with renewable fuels for more than 30 years, and tested his fuels in his own truck across 845,000 miles.
VRD reports spending last year and the first half of this year preparing its current Las Vegas renewable diesel refinery, which has a production capacity of 1 million gallons per month. Fuel deliveries in Clark County, Nevada are underway.