By Andrew HayleyBEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. incentives to boost consumption of more environmentally friendly fuel has created a new market for used Chinese cooking oil, worth almost $390 million in the last 12 months and growing rapidly, China's customs data shows.
In the first eight months of 2023, Chinese exports of used cooking oil (UCO) to the U.S. totalled almost 384,000 metric tons, customs data shows.
Used cooking oil can be refined into fuels such as biodiesel and SAF, which can be blended with conventional fuels to reduce carbon emissions.
State-run Chinese oil majors Sinopec and PetroChina, which are among those shipping UCO cargoes to the U.S., according to Kpler, did not respond to requests for comment.
Used cooking oil can be one-third the price of fresh vegetable oil, and has lower carbon intensity than non-waste feedstocks such as palm or canola oil.
Persons:
Andrew Hayley BEIJING, Biden, Kpler, Sophie Byron, Global's Byron, Andrew Hayley, Stephanie Kelly, Christian Schmollinger
Organizations:
U.S, SAF, P, Argonne National Laboratory, U.S . Department of Agriculture, Exports, European Commission, European Union
Locations:
China, U.S, California, Argonne, U.S . China, Europe, Germany