August 22, 2023
BY Erin Krueger
Caramuru, a Brazilian agribusiness company, on Aug. 16 announced it has begun selling soybean-based ethanol produced at its processing complex in Sorriso, Mato Grosso, a city located in the west-central region of the country.
While ethanol is most commonly produced from corn, sugarcane or sugar beet feedstock, Caramuru is now producing the fuel using soybean molasses, a byproduct of soybean processing.
According to information released by Caramuru, the soybean-based ethanol processing unit installed at its facility in Sorriso has the capacity to produce 9.5 million liters (2.51 million gallons) of hydrous ethanol annually. Approximately three-fourths of the ethanol produced at the facility will be sold into the domestic market, with the balance consumed as plant inputs, the company said.
Advertisement
Advertisement
The USDA maintained its outlook for 2025-’26 soybean oil use in biofuel production in its latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, released Aug. 12. The forecast for soybean oil prices was also unchanged.
U.S. soybean production for 2025 is forecast at 4.29 billion bushels, down 2% when compared to last year, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service’s latest monthly Crop Production report, released Aug. 12.
Marathon Petroleum Corp. on Aug. 5 released second quarter financial results, reporting improved EBITDA for its renewable diesel segment. The company primarily attributed the improvement to increased utilization and higher margins.
Chevron Corp. on Aug. 1 confirmed the company started production at the Geismar renewable diesel plant in Louisiana during the second quarter after completing work to expand plant capacity from 7,000 to 22,000 barrels per day.
As of July 2025, California’s SCFS requires renewable fuel producers using specified source feedstocks to secure attestation letters reaching back to the point of origin. This marks a significant shift in compliance expectations.