Australia's Rio Tinto has completed a four-week trial across January and February using renewable diesel, to help decarbonise its Pilbara iron ore operations.
Rio Tinto used 10mn litres of renewable diesel made from used cooking oil for the trial. The renewable diesel was sourced from Neste's Singapore biorefinery and shipped by Viva Energy to the Parker Point fuel terminal in Dampier where it was then blended with 80pc diesel. The blend was then distributed for use in rail, marine, blasting, haul trucks, surface mining equipment and light vehicles across Rio Tinto's Pilbara mining operations.
"Through this trial with Neste and Viva Energy, we've gained valuable insights into how renewable diesel can help bridge the gap to widespread electrification, as well as for circumstances where electrification may not be suitable," said Rio Tinto's managing director for rail, port and core services, Richard Cohen.
The trial was the first for Rio Tinto in Australia, while the company has already used renewable diesel at its Boron and Kennecott operations in the US, where 11pc of its total global fossil diesel consumption has been replaced with renewable diesel.
Rio Tinto is also developing a Pongamia seed farm in Northern Queensland as part of a biofuels pilot study to explore the potential of seed oil as a feedstock for renewable diesel output.
