Bangchak buys used cooking oil for jet fuel

SET-listed energy conglomerate Bangchak Corporation intends to collect a large amount of used cooking oil for use as a raw material for its commercial production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) next year.
The company, through its SAF production and distribution subsidiary BSGF, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with New Biodiesel to buy used cooking oil collected in southern provinces.
Bangchak also acquired a 45% share in Thanachok Vegetable Oil (2012) Co, a parent firm of New Biodiesel, which specialises in palm oil production and used cooking oil collection.
“The MoU aligns with the circular economy concept,” said Thamarat Paryoonsuk, senior executive vice-president for refinery and oil trading business at Bangchak.
In a circular economy, unwanted materials such as used cooking oil are upcycled to make a value-added product.
“This also means we can reduce the improper disposal of used cooking oil, which affects the environment,” he said.
SAF is good for the environment, said Mr Thamarat. This type of biofuel, which can be made from used cooking oil and agricultural waste, can replace jet fuel because their properties are similar, while the former has a smaller carbon footprint.
Earlier, Bangchak signed agreements to buy used cooking oil from 17 firms, especially those in the food and restaurant businesses.
They include Five Star Chicken Co, S&P Syndicate and Thai Beverage, the Singapore-listed food and beverage company.
Bangchak also wants to buy used cooking oil from small food shops and street food venders at 20 baht a litre.
The company previously encouraged people to refrain from polluting the environment through improper disposal of used cooking oil, or by repeatedly reusing it, which is unhealthy, in a campaign dubbed “Fry to Fly”, or tod mai ting in Thai.
Bangchak is building a 10-billion-baht SAF factory, with a proposed production capacity of 1 million litres a day.
The facility is located near Bangchak’s oil refinery in Bangkok’s Phra Khanong district.
The company plans to start commercial operations within the first quarter of next year.
SAF produced by the factory will be sold to Sumitomo Corporation, a Japanese chemical company.
Bangchak has not revealed the amount of SAF to be supplied to Sumitomo.
SAF production is part of Bangchak’s efforts to achieve carbon neutrality, a balance between carbon dioxide emissions and absorption, by 2030, aligning with the International Air Transport Association’s “Fly Net Zero” campaign.