Flow control for biorefining

Proven reliability and productivity for your process

Are you scaling bio-based fuel production and under pressure to prove your process is safe, reliable and ready to grow? As the energy transition accelerates, you need a flow control partner who understands both established process industries and this fast-emerging sector. We bring decades of severe service flow control experience to every stage of your sustainable fuel production process.

Decades of experience in severe service

Safety and reliability built into every flow control solution

Expert service and application support in 40+ countries worldwide

Common challenges in biorefining

Sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel and other bio-based fuels are rapidly scaling in commercial production, driven by climate commitments, tightening emissions regulations and growing demand for renewable transportation fuels. The feedstocks and pathways behind this growth, including HEFA, alcohol-to-jet, gasification and pyrolysis, place severe demands on flow control equipment.

Valves must withstand high-pressure hydrogen service, corrosive and abrasive catalyst-laden streams and repeated thermal cycling, while maintaining tight shut-off for emergency isolation. As these technologies mature, unplanned downtime, safety incidents or unreliable emission control can quickly undermine the economics and credibility of a new biorefining investment.

Flow control technologies engineered for sustainable fuel production

From hydrogen injection and deoxygenation to reactor temperature control, de-pressuring and fractionation, biorefining processes rely on valves that perform reliably under severe service conditions. Neles™ severe service ball, globe and butterfly valves are engineered for exactly this: tight, repeatable shut-off in high-pressure hydrogen service, resistance to catalyst erosion and abrasion, and stable control across HEFA, alcohol-to-jet, gasification and pyrolysis pathways.

The HEFA process is a proven pathway for converting feedstocks like vegetable oils into high-quality biofuels. Technology and configuration depend heavily on the feed stock used.

Intelligent valve automation, including Neles™ NDX controllers, Neles SwitchGuard™ and Neles ValvGuard™, adds real-time diagnostics and asset monitoring to critical applications such as emergency shutdown and burner management, many of which carry SIL and fire-safe certifications. The result is dependable operation and extended service life, even as feedstocks and process conditions vary.

Lifecycle support from project planning to plant operation

Sustainable fuel projects move through distinct stages, from early front-end engineering and design through procurement and construction to daily plant operation. We support you across this complete lifecycle, providing technical specification support during project definition, fast and accurate quotations during EPC bidding, and a dedicated order execution team covering manufacturing, documentation and commissioning.

Once a biorefinery is running, our global network of service professionals helps plan spares, plan shutdowns and apply predictive maintenance strategies, backed by digital diagnostics tools. This continuity of support, from first specification through years of operation, helps protect uptime as new biorefining technologies mature and scale.