California’s Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) has launched an investigation on whether Phillips 66 failed to get necessary permits to produce renewable fuels at its Rodeo refinery. Phillips 66 is working on a multi-phase project to convert the Rodeo refinery into the world’s largest processor of feedstocks such as soybean oil and animal fat to produce renewable fuels. The company said it started processing small volumes of soybean oil in the refinery in the first quarter of 2021.
Phillips 66 plans to produce 800 million gallons/year of renewable gasoline, renewable diesel, and sustainable aviation fuel in Rodeo. However, at least environmental groups have complained to regulators about the use of additional hydrogen to treat bio-based feedstocks such as soybean oil and animal tallow. Hydrogen can result in flaring events and refineries malfunction, the groups say.
One of the groups, the Natural Resources Defense Council, said Phillips 66 did not obtain the necessary permits from BAAQMD to start processing that oil this year. Meanwhile, the company said that it had proper approval for renewable diesel production at an existing hydrotreater as part of a standalone flexibility project. The company noted that it would not need to expand the refinery’s capacity to produce hydrogen, adding that estimated emissions from hydrogen generation will be included in an independent Environmental Impact Report.
