In response to a request for information from the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is urging state agencies to do more to ensure the integrity of imported waste cooking oil (UCO) and tallow for the production of biomass-based diesel (BBD) in accordance with the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
RFA noted that according to CARB data on California’s fuel consumption, the use of biomass-based diesel (BBD) produced from UCO doubles from 2019 to 2023, while the use of BBD produced from tallow triples, and some in the marketplace believe the source and composition of these feedstocks may be in doubt.
The influx of large amounts of foreign feedstocks has dampened the demand and prices of domestic feedstocks, such as corn lees oil produced by the ethanol industry. In addition, the impacts extend beyond the scope of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) programme. Large quantities of imported waste-based BBDs, as well as BBDs produced domestically from imported UCO and tallow (and consumed in California), are also being used to meet traditional renewable fuel use obligations under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard, undercutting the demand for ethanol, especially its use in higher blends such as E15 and E85.
Richman said CARB should require BBD producers to chemically analyse imported batches of UCO and tallow and provide documentation to prove that the feedstocks are correctly characterised and that the BBD produced truly meets the carbon intensity score under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard.