UCO (Used Cooking Oil) is a feedstock for biofuels. In 2023, European countries consumed close to seven million tonnes of UCO for biofuels. This is four times the continent’s maximum potential for supplying it domestically, so the rest comes from imports, mostly from China, Malaysia and Indonesia. The vast majority is blended for biodiesel to use in cars and trucks. UCO accounted for one third of conventional biodiesel feedstocks and a quarter of … [Read more...]
Biofuel is approaching a feedstock crunch. How bad? And what must be done?
The IEA is warning that biodiesel, renewable diesel and biojet fuel producers are heading for a feedstock supply crunch over the next five years. Rising prices are the signal to seek out new supplies and solutions, which should – and are - driving the development of government programmes and industry innovation. Here, the IEA lays out their projections for 2022-2027, covering all the main feedstocks: sugars, maize, soy oil, rapeseed oil, palm … [Read more...]
Engineering yeast to create Biofuels from non-food crops (straw, grass, cellulosic waste)
Using ethanol can reduce the global consumption of fossil fuels. But, commercially, ethanol in the U.S. is produced from corn and not enough is grown to make a significant impact on U.S. fuel needs. Anne Trafton at MIT describes research that has engineered yeast to break down straw and woody plant material to create ethanol as efficiently as it’s done from corn. High yields of ethanol were extracted from five different types of cellulosic … [Read more...]
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