With projected demand for biofuels soaring and project developers feverishly working to answer the call, the need for feedstock has never been greater. However, these needs vary greatly according to a number of factors, an overarching one being location and what the country’s policy requirements are in order for the fuel to meet qualifications. The U.S., Europe, Asia and South America all differ, points out Hermann Stockinger, director of customer relations at Austria-based BDI-BioEnergy International. BDI is a global leader in biodiesel plant construction, having completed more than 70 projects around the world—including the largest biodiesel plant in California as well as the largest waste-based biodiesel plant in Europe. In addition, over the last three decades, BDI has successfully obtained more than 300 patents.

Feedstock Demand by Country 
“In the U.S., we’re seeing much more flexibility in regard to allowable feedstocks compared to Europe,” Stockinger says. “Here [Europe], there are expectations from authorities to focus mostly on waste oils and fats. It doesn’t make a lot of sense in Europe to focus on a rapeseed oil biodiesel or HVO [hydrotreated vegetable oil] plant, as there is a push by the commission and the renewable energy directive to phase out food-type feedstocks.” This includes edible oils like soybean and canola oil, sugars and grains, and especially palm oil.  “If you’re a developer, certainly you have to follow these requirements,” Stockinger says. “So, in Europe, developers wouldn't want to launch a palm-oil based biodiesel project.”

But in Asia—especially Indonesia—it does make sense. “They’re really focused on using what’s available there, and in Indonesia, it’s palm oil,” Stockinger says. Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil—according to the USDA, production in the country is forecast at 46 million metric tons for 2023-'24, an increase of 3% from the year prior.

In the U.S., there is much less restriction on biofuel inputs, Stockinger reiterates. “We see much more openness to using different types of feedstocks, including soybean oil, with many virgin oil processing plants being built,” he says.

China is also focusing on nonfood feedstocks for biofuel production, according to Stockinger, mainly UCO. “European markets are sourcing a lot of their demand for UCO from China, which covers its own demands with domestic resources.”

Challenges & Flexibility 
Stockinger reiterates that global demand for UCO has always been high and will continue to be, and with that brings some challenges outside of competition. “One problem is how to define UCO,” he says. “That’s difficult to do based on physical and chemical properties—how many times has it been used? One, or three? And the industry is facing problems with fraudulent production based on feedstock that is wrongly specified by external suppliers. Producers don’t want to work against the law. In the future, it must be ensured that the industry can trust the certificates issued by well-known certification bodies.”

From a technical standpoint, in BDI’s experience, UCO qualities are getting worse as time goes on. “This is because the good qualities of UCO have already been recovered,” he explains. “It’s not an issue for us—we have technologies ready for that and have built plants in the U.S., Europe, and Asia for processing the worst types of feedstock.”

Stockinger adds that the next feedstocks BDI has been focusing on are split fatty acids, which are challenging in regard to phosphorous, sulphur and free fatty acid (FFA) content “But this [feedstock] has quite untouched potential for new projects, as we see it,” he says. “It's difficult to process, but BDI has technology for it. We’ve had phosphorous and sulfur reduction on the list for the past 15 or 20 years, and FFAs have never been an issue for us.” With RepCAT, BDI’s high-FFA process, raw materials with up to 99% free fatty acid content can be used. The system also allows for the catalyst to be reused within the process, saving on operating costs.

As for advice on how to mitigate inevitable future feedstock crunches, Stockinger says it’s the ability to use what’s available, and BDI can ensure new and existing plants have that capability. “Our answer is always feedstock flexibility,” he adds. “We have already converted or retrofitted several plants and done many studies. We have the concepts, technology and knowhow to bring outdated plant processes up to date.”