Renewable energy, or bio-fuels, is only one way that Darling contributes to the “greening of America,” but in the past few years, it has become the most talked about use for our recycled grease. As the world’s energy resources decline, the opportunity to use our yellow grease and tallow as a renewable energy source has become even more economically feasible and environmentally desirable. In addition to using our recycled grease and oils in the development of bio-fuel, we also use our recycled yellow grease as fuel to produce the steam that keeps some of our facilities operating.

As appealing as it is for the world to find efficient alternatives to petroleum fuel, using grains as raw stock in bio-diesel production has faced challenges. The “food for fuel” debate claims these grains should go to feed third world countries rather than be used to produce fuel, and more recently, studies suggest the sudden rush to clear forested land to plant grains for bio-fuel production is actually increasing greenhouse gas emissions rather than lowering them.

Rendered fats offer a perfect feedstock for the production of alternative fuels and a way around these challenges. Because its raw stock is recycled from collected food waste products, the bio-fuels produced from rendered grease will not diminish the food supply and does not require fertile land space be cleared to produce it.

Bio-fuels wont necessarily cure the U.S. of our dependency on foreign oil, but it's one piece in the puzzle of solving that dependency. Darling’s role in bio-fuel production and renewable energy is still being studied, but it, along with other promising uses for our products, will be developed while we continue to provide the services and process the same material that we have for the past century.

Related Links and Updates

Grease theft? Why would anyone steal used grease? The renewed interest in biodiesel production has helped drive up the value of feedstocks such as used restaurant cooking oil. This increase in value, along with more independents trying to get into biodiesel production, has contributed to an increase in grease theft across the country. Read Kris Bevill’s article from the August 2008 “Biodiesel Magazine”.