Growing demand for cleaner fuels like biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is creating a new opportunity to develop additional supplies of low-carbon fats and oils, including used cooking oil and surplus crop oils, according to Clean Fuels Alliance America, which has released a new report assessing potential global supplies of used cooking oil (UCO) to meet that demand through 2030.
In 2022, global UCO trade reached 3.7 billion gallons, according to the report authors, LMC International/GlobalData Plc. With anticipated demand and added value from biodiesel and renewable diesel production, the supply could grow to between 5 billion and 10 billion gallons by 2030, the authors project. With additional global UCO collection, the potential supply could increase by an additional 4 billion to 7 billion gallons.
The report indicates that the United States has the most well-developed UCO collection system, due to long-standing practices for its use and disposal. In 2022, the U.S. supply reached 850 million gallons. Increasing biodiesel and renewable diesel production is incentivizing domestic use of that supply – curbing recent export trends. The report identifies additional room for growth in U.S. collection to 1.1 billion gallons.