USED COOKING OIL
The utilisation of used cooking oil (UCO)
as a biodiesel feedstock has increased
significantly within the EU, which pro-
duced around 15,000M litres of biodiesel
EU imports grow
in 2017.
Between 2011 and 2016, there was Used cooking oil (UCO) is increasingly utilised in the EU to
a 360% increase in the use of UCO as produce biodiesel. To meet rising demand for this feedstock,
a biofuel feedstock, rising from 0.68M
tonnes to 2.44M tonnes in just five years, EU imports of UCO from China, Indonesia and Malaysia are
driven by renewable fuel policies.
To meet growing UCO demand, imports growing, raising concerns about their quality, traceability and
from outside the EU (predominantly indirect land use impact Douglas Phillips
Asia) are the only legitimate options for
increasing supply. However, as there are
no current globally agreed standards for is no longer fit for human consumption, UCO’s properties relates to its saturated
UCO, suppliers are only required to meet prompting its inclusion as an acceptable fat content. Higher concentrations of
the operator’s specifications, resulting in feedstock for ‘double counting’ towards saturated fatty acids can result in a fuel
a wide variety of qualities and chemical the renewable fuel targets set out within that has operational issues at lower tem-
compositions. the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive peratures.
The net imports of UCO and UCO- (RED). Another important consideration of
based FAME biodiesel (UCOME) to the The fatty acid composition of edible UCO quality is the free fatty acid (FFA)
EU have significantly increased since oil feedstocks differs – often significantly content of the feedstock. FFAs are long
2014, with a large proportion of this – impacting their properties and suit- carbon chain organic acids that have
sourced from China, Indonesia and ability for biodiesel use. This is especially hydrolysed and become disconnected
Malaysia. In 2018, these three countries important when considering the prop- from the triglyceride backbone. These are
exported more than 500,000 tonnes of erties of UCO; the characteristics of the therefore classed as impurities and must
UCO to the EU. This reliance is set to con- initial edible oil used for frying will directly be removed before the transesterification
tinue, with EU imports of Chinese UCO influence those of the waste product. process. Refined oil tends to have an FFA
increasing by 5.6% in first quarter 2019, Additionally, the cooking conditions content below 0.5wt% which is ideal for
compared with first quarter 2018. employed will also affect the quality of biodiesel production. However in UCO,
the UCO feedstock. This includes the this can range between 0.5-15wt%.
Factors affecting UCO quality number of times the oil has been used, Without more sophisticated equipment,
UCO has various names including waste the food types fried within it and the oil’s UCOs with FFAs above 3wt% can result in
cooking oil, used frying oil and yellow storage between uses. During frying there increased processing problems, producing
grease. However these all refer to the are several chemical processes that take soaps which effectively reduce the yield of
same commodity; purified oils and fats place, resulting in the deterioration of the the target methyl esters.
of plant and animal origin that have been oil. These include oxidation, hydrolysis and The FFA content of UCO can be greatly
used to cook food. polymerisation. influenced by cooking practices, differ-
European UCO is deemed a waste that The first major consideration of the ing significantly between domestic and u
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USED COOKING OIL
In addition to this quality, the traceabil-
ity and sustainability of the UCO gener-
ated in the EU – specifically the oil from
where it originates – is well established.
As UCO is deemed no longer fit for
human or animal consumption, the EU
legally recognises it as a waste and its
disposal is carefully regulated.
The default carbon intensity value of
biodiesel produced from UCOME is cur-
rently defined at 14 gCO₂e/MJ, represent-
ing a carbon saving of 83% when used as
a replacement to diesel.
In comparison, biodiesel from rapeseed,
soya and palm oil have associated carbon
intensity factors of 52, 58 and 68 gCO₂e/
MJ, respectively, equating to carbon
savings that range from 19-38%. These
crop-derived feedstocks for biodiesel do
not meet the 50% (latterly 60%) green-
house (GHG) savings threshold required
Source: NNFCC
by the EU’s RED. Therefore, when con-
sidering stated carbon intensity values,
UCOME is seen as a preferable alternative
Figure 1: Net imports of palm oil, CPO and UCO/UCOME into EU (‘000 tonnes) fuel for reducing emissions.
The benefits of UCO also extend to the
u industrial sources. Increased frying time water within the feedstock can lead to hy- financial commitments of producing and
has been shown to cause degradation of drolysis which will also affect the efficiency supplying UCOME fuel. In the amended
the oil, increasing the UCO’s FFA content. of the conversion process. Consequently, version of the RED (REDII), the use of
However, the deterioration can be exac- several different mechanical and chemical waste feedstocks, including UCO, has
erbated further by short batch frying pro- methods have been developed to reduce been actively promoted by the Europe-
cesses. Intermittent cooking, involving the the FFA and water content, while also an Commission, specifically their double
heating and reheating of the oil several neutralising the UCO. counting towards renewable energy
times, increases the likelihood of oxidation Once the UCO has been pretreated, targets.
and hydrolysis, impacting the quality when the transformation of the waste feed-
compared to continued frying. This also stock into methyl esters is similar to UCO and UCOME imports
results in a more viscous and acidic UCO, that of virgin oils and fats – resulting in Although the use of UCO is widely
which again can impact its suitability as a equivalent fuel properties. As with edible supported within the EU, particularly that
feedstock for biodiesel. oil feedstocks that are high in saturated produced by member states, there is a
The different sources of UCO – both fats, any issues with crystallisation at low growing demand for it as a resource. This
in the original raw material used and the temperatures requires the addition of cold has resulted in the establishment of global
cooking practices employed – results in a flow improvers to the produced UCOME UCO markets, although there are con-
biodiesel feedstock that has the potential to ensure its usability. cerns about the quality, traceability and
to be heterogenous. sustainability of imported UCO.
Before UCO can be used as a biodies- UCOME in the EU The EU has a well-regulated market
el feedstock, it must first be cleaned to There is already a well-established Euro- for the use of the waste oil produced
remove any impurities and solids that exist pean UCOME market, with an estimated by member states; reputable companies
as a result of the cooking process. This in- 3.5M tonnes of potential UCO capacity collect UCO from industrial and com-
cludes sieving to physically remove solids, available within the EU. mercial food producers, delivering the
degumming to remove phospholipids and Between 2011 and 2016, the utilisation waste feedstock to biodiesel producers.
de-watering. In addition, deacidification of UCO increased steadily, resulting in a As a result, 2016 estimates of the UCO
is often required, with UCO tending to 360% rise in its use, from 680,000 tonnes market indicated that there was only a
be more acidic than the original edible oil to 2.44M tonnes. The prominent EU users small amount of additional supply remain-
source. Pre-treatment is particularly im- of UCO are Germany, Italy, the Nether- ing within the EU. To meet the growing
portant when considering the conversion lands, Spain and the UK. feedstock demand, global imports from
of UCO into biodiesel; the produced fuel Up until 2003, UCO was utilised exten- outside the EU are the only legitimate
must meet EN14214 standards in the EU sively as a high fat supplement in animal option for increasing UCO supply. Net
and ASTM D6751 in the USA. feed. However, the outbreak of mad cow imports of UCO and UCOME into the EU
The concentrations of FFAs in UCO can disease (BSE) prompted the banning of have increased significantly since 2014
have a large impact on the transesterifi- UCO as a feed supplement, resulting in its (see Figure 1, above), with a large propor-
cation reaction. If FFAs are in excess of classification as a waste. There are now tion of the imports originating from China,
3wt%, then saponification (soap formation) legal limitations placed on the collection Indonesia and Malaysia.
can occur, causing a reduction in biodiesel and disposal of UCO that have resulted In 2018, EU UCO imports totalled
yield while also increasing the catalyst in it becoming a well-regulated feedstock, more than 500,000 tonnes. Nearly
consumption. In addition, the presence of attaining certain levels of quality. 100,000 tonnes of this was sourced from u
20 OFI – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 www.ofimagazine.com
USED COOKING OIL
biodiesel produced from UCO that orig-
inates from palm is likely to gel in colder
temperatures, causing engines to fail.
Although routine quality testing is
currently undertaken in Europe, this is by
no means definitive. High-profile usability
issues with biodiesel fuels could severely
impact the public’s perception and con-
fidence in them, negatively affecting the
broader biofuel sector in general.
An additional quality issue is the rancid-
ification of UCO feedstocks. During the
last decade, there have been several food
safety scandals in China, with the most
prominent relating to the supply and use
of illegal cooking oil, often referred to as
‘gutter oil’. The crudely processed waste
oil – sourced predominantly from catering
and sewage wastes – is sold for human
consumption as a cheap alternative
cooking oil. As part of a bid to improve
Source: NNFCC
food safety, the Chinese State Council has
begun to tackle the mass production of
illegal cooking oil, resulting in an increased
Figure 2: Price changes of UCO and CPO, 2017-2018 (US$/tonne) supply of UCO.
There are currently no globally agreed
u Malaysia. However, these bulk shipments Quality issues quality standards for UCO, with the sup-
were blends of both Malaysian and UCO The consumption of edible vegetable plied feedstock merely required to meet
originating from China. oils in China has grown significantly over the operators’ desired specifications – this
In the UK, the most common feedstock the last decade. This has coincided with is normally <1% contaminants and <4%
source of the biodiesel supplied in 2018 increased demand for fried food, with FFAs. UCO that is composed predomi-
– between April and December – was fast food restaurants – such as McDon- nantly of gutter oil will contain much high-
Chinese UCO, totalling 93M litres, rep- ald’s and KFC – establishing themselves er concentrations of FFAs and contami-
resenting 15% of certified biodiesel and within the country. Domestic consump- nants, causing issues in the production of
9% of the total certified renewable fuel. tion of edible oils in China is met mainly biodiesel. The resulting higher processing
Furthermore, Malaysian UCO – which by soyabean, rapeseed and peanut oils. costs and reduced yields associated with
partially consists of blended Chinese UCO However in large-scale, commercial food Chinese UCO may therefore result in an
– accounted for an additional 36M litres production – frying chips and other snack uneconomic process.
of the UK’s supplied biodiesel. Compar- foods – palm is the preferred cooking oil.
atively, during this same period, the UK’s As a result, it is estimated that more than Sustainability issues
UCO feedstocks were used to produce 40% of the palm oil consumed in China is The key driver for biodiesel uptake has
76M litres. used for food production, particularly in been its ability to markedly reduce the
In addition to the increased deliveries catering frying. GHG emissions associated with the
of UCO, the EU imported nearly 200,000 In addition, most of the edible oil transport sector, particularly in helping the
tonnes of UCOME in 2018 sourced consumed in Indonesia and Malaysia is transition towards a decarbonised system.
predominantly from Indonesia. Although sourced from domestic palm oil, particu- Biofuels that are produced in facilities
biodiesel production from UCO is cur- larly in Indonesia, where the use of palm which began operations after October
rently in its infancy in China, the country’s oil in cooking has continued to increase, 2015 are required to comply with a 60%
hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) bio- currently at a rate of ~5%/year. This GHG saving threshold, an increase from
diesel capacity is increasing. For example, equated to more than 2M tonnes of palm the previously mandated 50%.
the ISCC EU certified Yangzhou Jianyuan oil in 2016 alone. Ensuring the sustainability of UCO
HVO plant has a capacity of 100,000 Palm oil is high in saturated fatty acids, feedstocks – correctly quantifying their
tonnes/year, utilising UCO as its main with a pour point of ~23.5°C. Therefore, potential for combatting climate change
feedstock. If China establishes a signif- any UCO originating from palm would – is therefore imperative, particularly in
icant supply of EU certified biodiesel – have comparable fatty acid contents and relation to the obligations of fuel suppliers
using a double counting feedstock – then chemical properties. to reduce GHG emissions as part of the
EU imports of Chinese HVO may increase Due to the reliance on palm oil within EU Fuel Quality Directive.
significantly. their food industries, the UCO sourced As a waste, UCO is considered a low
Trade data indicates that the EU is from China, Indonesia and Malaysia is risk ILUC biofuel feedstock. This differs
replacing its consumption of palm oil with likely to fundamentally differ to that to those produced from crops grown
global imports of UCO and, to a lesser generated in the EU as a result of the dif- on arable land, such as palm oil, which
extent, UCOME. This is due to the associ- fering original feedstocks. This could have is deemed high risk due to its increased
ated high indirect land use change (ILUC) repercussions, impacting the performance ILUC implications. In the case of gutter oil
impact of palm oil cultivation and the of the produced UCOME. Without the – and other low-grade waste oil sources
well-publicised issues with biodiversity. addition of cold flow improvers (CFIs), any that are linked to animal by-products u
22 OFI – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 www.ofimagazine.com
USED COOKING OIL
u – their validity as wastes is undeniable, cently within the Netherlands. Significant
falling in line with current EU policy and
legislation, while their removal from
‘Between 2011 volumes of biodiesel sold there in 2015
and 2016 were wrongly designated as
human consumption supply chains will sustainable, with double-counting credits
also help improve food safety in China. and 2016, there was claimed as a result. Not only do instances
However, the inclusion of better quality, like this raise doubt over the sustainability
filtered oils that are not legally mandated a 360% increase in of certain imported feedstocks, they also
as a waste is a more contentious issue. undermine confidence in the entire biofu-
In China, UCO has historically been the use of UCO as a el sector, which could have much greater
an important component of animal feed, repercussions.
acting as a cheap and high energy addi-
tive, improving both the energy density
biodiesel feedstock Conclusions
and the binding of feed pellets. It has also
been used as a supplement in creep feed,
in the EU, driven by Utilising wastes which, without the exis-
tence of a biofuel market, would end up
helping to support the increased growth
and weight of young livestock. This is par- renewable fuel in landfill is seen as a preferable pathway
option ahead of fuel crops.
ticularly important within China’s growing The EU’s well-defined legislative frame-
pork industry; the growth demand for policies’ work for wastes has established UCO as
meat protein has resulted in increased a key biodiesel feedstock. This demand is
demand for cheap animal feed sources. currently being met by a growing reliance
Current Chinese State Council policy used oil, then the subsequent ILUC emis- on Chinese UCO imports. However, the
forbids the use of UCO – sourced from sions of palm oil should be included in the feedstock quality, traceability and robust-
catering and meat processing facilities – UCO assessment – or at least be flagged ness of the supply chain’s sustainability
as a supplement for animal feed. Though as a potential high ILUC-risk fuel. may not be as comparable to EU-sourced
this policy does not include high-grade UCO.
used vegetable oils, uncontaminated by Traceability issues Unlike the EU, estimations of UCO
meat products, these are also beginning to The final, and perhaps most controversial, capacity and availability within China,
be included as a UCO source. issue relates to the traceability of the Indonesia and Malaysia are inherently dif-
Their inclusion will result in a better UCO sourced from China. To access the ficult to validate. Indeed, without a proper
quality UCO biodiesel feedstock – con- European market, the supplied UCO must understanding of the current volumes of
taining lower levels of contamination and meet EU sustainability standards. waste oil generated, it is almost impossible
FFAs – but its removal from the animal UCO collection points (CPs) – which to substantiate the GHG savings associ-
feed supply chain will need to be replaced. source the waste directly from the places ated with the feedstock or if additional
Since 2015, there has been a sustained of origin – are audited on the documen- wastes are being produced as a result
increase in the amount of UCO exported tation of the supplied materials. Each of the EU’s policy support for biodiesel
from China to the EU. This has coin- point of origin must be certified; however, production from imported UCO.
cided with increased imports of edible the audit process requires only signed This is further exacerbated by the
oils during the same time period. Both self-declarations as proof. Additionally, inclusion of possible non-wastes within
soyabean and rapeseed oil imports have only large waste producers – generating the UCO waste stream – the redirection
shown increases. However these are small more than 120 tonnes/year – are required of high-grade waste vegetable oils, safe
when compared to palm oil; between to provide samples within the CP auditing for consumption within animal feed, to
2016 and 2018, palm imports to China framework. biofuel production may result in their
grew by 1M tonnes, representing an These are relatively soft anti-fraud replacement with cheaper virgin edible
increase of more than 20%. mechanisms that require a certain level oils, such as palm. The available evidence
There are complexities relating to Chi- of trust, making them susceptible to ex- indicates that China’s palm oil imports
nese edible oil imports – such as their re- ploitation. The motive for this strengthens are increasing, in line with the country’s
cent trade dispute with the USA, prompt- further when considering the market price increased exports of UCO.
ing the need to find alternative sources of of UCO. Figure 2 (p22) demonstrates If these are indeed connected, then
soyabeans. However, the available trade the prices of UCO and crude palm oil are the ILUC implications of using imported
data clearly shows China’s increased con- closely related – likely a result of their UCO as a feedstock for biodiesel could
sumption of palm oil. Although correla- suitability as cheap biodiesel feedstocks. be significant and must be investigat-
tion does not constitute causation, this As evidenced, during the last six months ed. Furthermore, if imported UCO is to
increase should not be ignored; there are of 2018, the value of UCO was greater continue as a double counting feedstock,
clear parallels between increased exports than CPO, resulting in increased exports then confidence in its supply chain should
of Chinese UCO and their imports of palm of the commodity from China to the be paramount. The certification process
oil, with the growth of both expected to EU. This has continued into 2019, with of UCO – sourced from outside the EU –
continue throughout 2019. Chinese UCO accounting for US$55.8M should be more robust, helping to ensure
Consequently, there are concerns over worth of imports in the first quarter alone. that the feedstock meets comparable
the carbon intensity of UCO sourced from The higher value of UCO, and a lack of levels of traceability and sustainability.
China, Indonesia and Malaysia, due to the stringent traceability controls on the col-
potential inclusion of non-wastes within lecting points and points of origin in Chi- Dr Douglas Phillips is a consultant for the
the waste feedstock stream. If their utilisa- na, could give rise to fraudulent activity. international consultancy, NNFCC, UK
tion in EU biofuel production is leading to This potential for fraudulent activities This article is based on his report,
an increased use of palm oil within animal – relating directly to biodiesel production ‘Implications of Used Cooking Oil as a
feed, replacing high grade uncontaminated from UCO – has been demonstrated re- Biodiesel Feedstock’, published in May 2019
24 OFI – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 www.ofimagazine.com
