Cemvita, Radix make progress in front-end engineering for glycerin-to-bio-oil project in Brazil

Radix announced Feb. 6 that it and Cemvita are progressing in front-end engineering for a first-of-its-kind circular bio-oil project in Brazil focused on converting crude glycerin, a biodiesel byproduct, into ultra-low carbon-intensity (CI) bio-oil used as a feedstock to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other advanced biofuels.

Brazil has historically been a global leader in biofuel, primarily through bioethanol.

This collaborative project takes a different path.

Cemvita’s proprietary biomanufacturing platform converts crude glycerin into a versatile bio-oil that can be upgraded into high-value, drop-in feedstocks including for coprocessing in existing refineries or hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA)-based SAF, expanding both the feedstock base and the decarbonization potential of the fuel value chain.

The collaboration focuses on translating Cemvita’s biomanufacturing process, de-risked through years of pilot and scale-up work, into an industrially executable configuration.

Leveraging its engineering expertise and global experience supporting large-scale industrial projects, Radix is responsible for developing the engineering, industrial-design basis and scalability framework for the project.

Radix, a technology-solutions services company, worked alongside Cemvita to define operating boundaries, pressure-test assumptions and align the biology with real-world industrial constraints.

The result advances the project toward a buildable asset and materially reduces execution risk. 

“This project demonstrates how innovation and industrial engineering can work together to enable energy transition,” said Luiz Mello, the head of energy at Radix. “Cemvita has developed a unique and differentiated technology. Our close collaboration aims to ensure that this technology can be engineered, built and operated at an industrial scale with the discipline and quality required for long-term success.”

Cemvita’s process enables crude glycerin, traditionally a low-value byproduct of biodiesel production, to become a strategic input for ultra-low CI fuels.

With Radix’s engineering leadership, the project is being designed in a way that could be deployed across biodiesel facilities, supporting broader adoption and long-term growth.

“What the teams have accomplished in the past six months reflects a very high level of engineering collaboration and discipline,” said Luciano Zamberlan, the vice president of operations and engineering at Cemvita. “Together with Radix, we successfully tropicalized a project initially designed for the U.S., adapting equipment selection, utilities, layout and integration strategies to Brazil. This approach enabled close to a 40 percent reduction in cost per ton of bio‑oil produced while leveraging strong synergies with existing industrial assets and local capabilities.”

This engineering approach intends to be replicable and scalable across biodiesel facilities, enabling crude glycerin to shift from a low-value byproduct into a strategic input for ultra-low CI fuels.

Beyond its technical and commercial relevance, the project supports the development of a more circular bioeconomy by upgrading waste streams into higher-value products and enabling new pathways for sustainable fuels.

The project continues to advance through development phases with the objective of reaching the final-investment decision (FID) this year.