"It Takes The Fat From 8,800 Pigs To Power A Transatlantic Flight"

"In the growing search for alternative fuels, scientists are looking to animal fats to power cars, trucks, and even planes one day".

"There are no two ways about it, we need to find an alternative to fossil fuels to power the cars, boats, and planes we rely on for transportation, shipping, and filling our spare time. So far, we’ve got companies like Porsche investigating e-fuels, Cummins is building hydrogen engines and there’s even a tractor startup using ammonia to power its vehicles. But have you ever heard of a car powered by pig fat?

A new report from Transport & Environment (T&E) has been looking into just that as it investigated the feasibility of animal fats as biofuels. According to the paper, waste animal fats from the meat industry can be rendered down and turned into alternatives to gas and diesel.

Such fuels are common in Europe, T&E reports, with the continent burning 46% of its waste animal fat as biofuel in trucks and heating appliances. Proponents of animal-based biofuels will tell you this is great, as the process makes use of a product that would traditionally go to waste. That’s because biofuels can be made from any of the three categories of animal fats, whereas products such as cosmetics and pet food are reliant on the best Category 3 fats."

Owen Bellwood reports for Jalopnik May 31, 2023.

Source: Jalopnik, 06/01/2023