UOP LLC, an affiliate of Honeywell, has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with China National Petroleum Corporation and the two companies will collaborate on a range of biofuel technologies and projects in China.

The two companies will cooperate to demonstrate existing biofuel technology to produce green transportation fuels using raw materials available in China. In addition, CNPC will evaluate the installation of demonstrative UOP/Eni Ecofining equipment for the production of green diesel fuel and a larger scale facilities at its existing or new refineries.

The companies will also cooperate on the design of Ecofining equipment that can produce both green diesel and renewable jet fuel from Chinese biofeedstocks, and assess the feasibilities for advancing the energy efficiency of existing and new ethanol plants in China with the use ethanol membrane technology.

These initiatives will not only enable CNPC to meet the renewable energy goals set by the National Development and Reform Commission of China, they are also in line with a strategic understanding reached by NDRC and the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2007 on the promotion of industrial energy efficiency improvements and emissions reductions.

Jennifer Holmgren, general manager of UOP's Renewable Energy and Chemicals, said the collaboration between the parties would greatly advance the development of viable renewable fuels for the transportation sector in China.

Hu Jie, the chief engineer for refining and chemicals for CNPC's Petro China Company, stated that as a global Fortune 500 company and a responsible corporation, CNPC has been long committed to emerging energy technologies. Hu believed the company's cooperation with UOP would facilitate the lowering of carbon emission and the development of the green economy in China.

UOP LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc. and a leading international supplier and licensor of process technology, catalysts, adsorbents, process plants, and consulting services.

CNPC is one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world and also one of the leading Chinese companies in promoting and deploying advanced biofuel technologies. Currently CNPC is devoted to developing biofuel technologies based on biofeedstocks that are abundant in China.