Conference article

The UK transport sector is currently responsible for 30% of UK CO2 emissions. Therefore; the use of biofuels is explored. As the CO2 released when energy is generated from biomass is generally balanced by that absorbed during the fuel’s production it is often regarded as a ‘carbon neutral’ process. However; there are impacts associated with bioenergy production; including; for example; the growth and transportation of feedstock. One way to overcome these is to use a waste oil feedstock. Whilst there will not be enough waste oil to meet all our fuel demands; some firms in the UK have started to use their waste catering oil for transport. Collection and conversion is often done on a small scale and a number of methods are used for the processes. Therefore; the associated environmental impacts are variable. The environmental impact of the production and use of biodiesel from waste oil based on two case studies has been assessed. The impacts associated with the use of fossil fuels and climate change gas production is lower than that of the production of conventional fossil fuel diesel. The biggest impact within the process is associated with the use of methanol and the waste oil collection.

Biofuels; environmental life cycle assessment; waste oil