Biodiesel has combustion properties very similar to mineral diesel and can replace it in most uses. Less toxic than table salt and as biodegradable as sugar, biodiesel is most often used blended with mineral diesel. It is one of the main candidates to replace fossil fuels as the world’s primary transport energy source because it is a renewable, clean-burning fuel that can deliver benefits both to the environment and to vehicle engines. A blend of 5 per cent biodiesel to 95 per cent mineral diesel (known as B5) is most common in the UK. Using it in a blend extends existing fossil fuel reserves and requires no changes either to vehicle engines or to the current fuel supply chain infrastructure and logistics.

Biodiesel can be produced from an array of different oil-based materials, which includes vegetable oil, used cooking oil (UCO) and tallow (animal fat), through a double transesterification process. Methanol, used in conjunction with an appropriate catalyst under controlled conditions allows the oil-based material to be transesterified to a fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). Transesterification basically sees the substitution of methanol (a monohydric alcohol) for triglycerides. The FAME then undergoes a series of washing steps before finally being distilled to produce biodiesel which meets the European standard.

Argent’s plant recycles tallow and used cooking oil, which are by-products of the food and agricultural industries, to produce biodiesel. The plant is capable of using many different types of raw materials, including virgin oils such as rapeseed oil.

The state-of-the-art technology used at Argent Energy’s plant was developed by Biodiesel International (BDI) – an Austrian firm with collaborative links to the Universities at Graz in Austria who are pioneers in this field.