What are the tailpipe emissions from HVO?

Introduction

Prema HVO’s ~85% GHG emission savings come from a full lifecycle assessment of the fuel – from production all the way through to its use.

The direct emissions, from burning Prema HVO, are considered to be zero – or ‘carbon neutral’. This is because the fuel is made from 100% waste plant matter, which pulled carbon from the atmosphere while growing. The plant matter was converted into cooking oil, became a waste product, and was then converted into Prema HVO. When it’s eventually burnt as HVO, the carbon the plant matter originally pulled from the atmosphere is released again, so there is no net change to the carbon levels in the atmosphere.

The small amount of net carbon from Prema HVO comes from the wider lifecycle emissions generated from ‘well to tank’ (WTT). This includes:

• The transportation of the feedstock (used cooking oil) to the refinery.
• The hydrotreatment process used to produce HVO.
• The onward transportation and distribution of Prema HVO.

In the UK, conventional diesel is around 94% fossil diesel, which is made from crude oil. Unlike the waste plant matter used to produce Prema HVO, crude oil is trapped deep under the Earth’s surface and is not part of the planet’s natural ‘carbon cycle’. When burnt, crude oil increases overall carbon levels in the atmosphere.

The CO2 equivalent (CO2e) of Prema HVO vs Diesel

CO2 equivalent (CO2e0 explained

Greenhouse gases constitute a group of 7 gases contributing to global warming and climate change; carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3). Converting them to carbon dioxide (or CO2) equivalents makes it possible to compare them and to determine their individual and total contributions to global warming.

CO2 equivalent is a metric measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases on the basis of their global-warming potential (GWP),iv by converting amounts of other gases to the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide with the same global warming potential. For example, the GWP for methane is 25 and for nitrous oxide 298.

The CO2 equivalent of Diesel

Using the UK government’s official GHG conversion factors for emissions reporting the GHG emissions of conventional diesel are as follows:

• 2.56kg CO2e per litre in direct emissions (see ‘Fuels’ tab) (Advanced User set, Fuels sheet, cell E72)
• 0.60986kg CO2e per litre in WTT lifecycle emissions (Advanced User set, WTT-fuels sheet, cell E71)

The total is therefore 3.17kg CO2e.

The CO2 equivalent of Prema HVO
In comparison, the typical emissions of Prema HVO are as follows:

• 0kg CO2e per litre in direct emissions
• Typically, 0.28kg CO2e per litre in WTT lifecycle emissions.

The total is therefore 0.26kg CO2e.

Why Prema HVO can guarantee GHG emission accuracy?

We can guarantee the emission savings of Prema HVO because it is certified by International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) & Renewable Fuels Assurance Scheme (RFAS) certification. The RFAS scheme is designed and managed by Zemo Partnership.

Prema HVO is imported with an ISCC Proof of Sustainability (POS) statement with each and every cargo of HVO – this states the full lifecycle GHG emissions of the HVO (including transport).

The cargoes are received on top of previous HVO cargos into the import tank – with slightly different lifecycle GHG emissions – creating a cocktail of cargos. The material is also delivered into depot tanks, again, creating cocktails of materials.

To account for these cocktails – we provide a Renewable Fuels Assurance Scheme (RFAS) declaration quarterly to our customers.

We would provide you with a quarterly Renewable Fuels Assurance Scheme (RFAS) declaration, declaring the exact CO2e per litre / GHG emissions from the fuel you received in the previous quarter. This, in turn, enables you to report clear and accurate greenhouse gas emission savings in a straightforward way.

We hope this gives you a clearer understanding of the GHG emissions of Prema HVO. If you would like to discuss anything further, or have questions about reporting and calculating your emissions, please do get in touch.