Demand for sustainable biofuels is increasing following European legislation aiming to reduce the carbon footprint of aviation, maritime and road transport fuels. Rendered fat, made from animal by-products, is a sustainable feedstock for biofuels. A new White Paper from EFPRA explains the regulatory, environmental and technical aspects of using rendered fat in biofuel.
In Europe, only Category 3 rendered fat is allowed in animal feed, meaning that Category 1 and 2 fat go to technical uses such as fuel. Rendering is an essential veterinary step to ensure any by-products of meat and dairy production are made safe and stable so they pose no health risks. The materials from rendering typically have a relatively low carbon footprint because the prinicpal meat and dairy products shoulder more of the environmental footprint. As such they are an important part of moves to a more sustainable, circular food system.
Default values
The European Commission evaluated these emissions and calculated default values (DV) for biofuels produced from different biological sources (annex V of Directive (EU) 2018/2001). These DV take the greenhouse has (GHG) emissions from all upstream processes including biofuel production into account.
Because animal fats are made from by-products of meat production and animal farming, they generally have a lower DV. This is because biofuel production was not the intention of raising an animal. The inedible fats are only a by-product or even a residue of meat and dairy production, hence they have a high DV for GHG emissions savings. Used cooking oil is another feedstock with a very good DV.
| Biofuel production pathway | Default value – GHG emissions saving |
| Animal fats from rendering (Category 1 & 2) biodiesel | 78% |
| Rape seed biodiesel | 47% |
| Sunflower biodiesel | 52% |
| Waste cooking oil biodiesel | 84% |
| Hydrotreated oil from animal fats (Category 1 & 2) from rendering | 77% |
| Hydrotreated vegetable oil from rape seed | 47% |
| Hydrotreated vegetable oil from sunflower | 54% |
| Hydrotreated oil from waste cooking oil | 83% |
“In nature, fats and oils are the main form of energy storage besides starch. As an energy rich substance it is logical to use rendered fat in sustainable biofuel. This has in fact been the case for centuries for example animal fats were widely used in lamps and candles. Nowadays, the processes have changed but the principle of using animal fats as fuel remains.”
Dr Martin Alm, EFPRA Technical Director.
There are three main processes used to convert rendered fat into biofuels: the biodiesel process, hydrotreating, and co-processing. You can learn more about them in the new White Paper ‘Animal Fat: a Sustainable Feedstock for Biofuels.‘