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Biofuel
Used cooking oil is a key ingredient in making biofuel, specifically biodiesel. It is a renewable fuel produced from vegetable oils (soybean, canola, corn, grapeseed, sunflower, and palm) and animal fats.
Because of the expanded U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard, biofuels are in high demand. This standard is a federal law that mandates suppliers of transport fuels (diesel and gasoline) to inject a small percentage of biofuels into their products. It aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the United States’ dependence on non-renewable petroleum. It ensures that you don’t fill your tank with pure diesel fuel, but with a 2%, 5%, or 20% biodiesel blend.
Other countries are also implementing similar laws. Meanwhile, Dubai is leading the change in sustainable fuel for transport: it is now the first city in the world to adopt 100% biodiesel fuel, and it’s starting with its municipal cars.
To meet the demand, biodiesel manufacturers work with used cooking oil suppliers like ours to collect used cooking oil by the gallon. This industry is more helpful than you think; it provides biodiesel manufacturers with the feedstock they need so that they don’t have to buy freshly produced vegetable oil. If they did the latter, the demand for cooking oil may exceed supply, drive prices up, and cause widespread inflation in the food industry.