Hong Kong-based biofuels producer EcoCeres has exported the first bionaphtha produced at its 420,000 t/yr biofuels facility in Johor, Malaysia, to South Korean chemical company LG Chem, it said today.
This follows the export of EcoCeres' first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) cargoes from the plant in mid-December.
The bionaphtha cargo was 2,000t of International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus-certified product, delivering to South Korea in January. In 2025, LG Chem agreed to buy a total of 4,000t of bionaphtha from EcoCeres in 2026 at a fixed price, with the second cargo expected to be delivered during the second half of 2026, a market source said.
Bionaphtha is a byproduct of producing biofuels hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through the hydrotreated esters and fatty acids (HEFA) pathway. Yields vary, but can range at 5-10pc when maximising HVO output, and 10-25pc when maximising SAF production at a plant.
Bionaphtha plays a small role in gasoline blending to meet renewables in transport targets in Europe. But in Asia, it is typically used as a drop-in alternative feedstock to fossil naphtha for producing low-carbon chemicals, driven by voluntary demand.
EcoCeres' bionaphtha enables up to 90pc reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, against a fossil fuel comparator of 94g CO2 equivalent/MJ, the company said.
LG Chem is one of the largest bionaphtha buyers and bio-chemicals producers in the region. It began commercial production of bio-based phenol and acetone in July 2022, and has since added products including based plastics bio-ABS and bio-poly olefin and bio-acrylic acid.
Argus last assessed ISCC Plus-certified bionaphtha at $1,925/t cfr northeast Asia on 22 January. Prices have risen by $45/t since the start of the year to more than a two-year high. The uptrend has been driven by tighter supply on regional outages and a price-driven pivot to HVO over SAF production lowering byproduct yields, while demand from chemical producers has stayed firm.
