It has been calculated that 225,000 tonnes of used cooking oil is thrown away every year in the UK. If this was all collected and refined, the resulting biofuel could generate more than 13,000-megawatt hours of electricity per year, the equivalent to the annual average consumption of around 2,200 households.

Based in Canterbury, Kent, Bio Driven offers a small commercial facility producing sustainable, compliant biodiesel for high-end users using only waste cooking oils and avoiding virgin or palm oils.

The needs and demands of food manufacturers, food logistics companies and commercial caterers have been investigated since the company was established in 2006. Bio Driven currently works with Carnival UK, Fred Olsen, Norwegian Cruise line, Royal Caribbean (including the largest cruise liner in the world called ‘The Independence of the Seas’) and others. The company plans to work with national and multinational food companies in the near future assisting with their waste management stream, promoting environmental awareness and cutting costs.

David Chalk, managing director of Bio Driven, said: “Our aims are to expand the envelope for currently available feedstock through R&D to the commercial production of Algae to compliment our available feedstocks. Ultimately we promote sustainability, acceptance and competitive price points for our products.”

Quality is paramount to Bio Driven’s production: biodiesel is processed using equipment sourced throughout Europe. The reactor vessels and filtering process  are to food grade standards and the company’s is committed to becoming carbon negative with the installation of on-site combined heat and power from
biodiesel/glycerine in the not too distant future. The production process is already carbon neutral.

Chalk explains the company’s core activities: “We take in bulk oils from clients for processing and refining, which we sell on as biodiesel, but our expertise does not stop there. We have, through The Environmental Industries Commission and The Renewable Energy Association, developed industry networking and franchise opportunities to accommodate high volumes of bulk feed stock for biodiesel production within the UK to reduce fuel miles and costs.”

Bio Driven offers three areas of activity:

• A simple cash purchase for bulk waste cooking oil for conversion to biodiesel within the Bio Driven plant and network facilities.
• For companies wanting to use their own waste cooking oil for biodiesel in their logistics fleet, Bio Driven will introduce a fully-automated mobile facility in early 2009 using its trained staff to undertake the conversion on site, delivering biodiesel at no capital cost, reducing road miles, converting the waste stream to a cash asset and providing a sustainable solution to their waste cooking oil.
• Bio Driven has the expertise to advise, install and train staff to operate a fully automated biodiesel plant tailored to each individual company’s requirement, for those with on-site bulk waste cooking oil.

Chalk commented: “Within the food processing industry, forward buying and hedging prices for feedstocks offers price stability, which is transferable to a company’s logistics/transport requirements, when converting the waste cooking oil to biodiesel. Working with Bio Driven will result in fuel price stability, significant savings and a greater understanding and positive contribution to current environmental issues.”

I really like the idea of recycling cooking oil and using it as fuel, I hope more companies like this pop-up all over the country!

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