Cooking oil is typically discarded after being used in kitchens to prepare various dishes. However, instead of being treated as waste, it can now be used to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Indian Oil refinery has recently received certification for producing SAF from cooking oil, news agency PTI reported, citing company chairman Arvinder Singh Sahney.
Indian Oil‘s Panipat refinery in Haryana has won the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) ISCC CORSIA certification (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) – ISCC – developed under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) to produce SAF from used cooking oil, he added.
What is SAF?
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is an alternative fuel typically produced from non-petroleum feedstocks that reduces emissions from air transportation. Depending on availability, it can be blended up to 50 per cent with conventional aviation turbine fuel (ATF or jet fuel). India has mandated 1 per cent SAF blending in jet fuel sold to international airlines from 2027.
Cooking oil turned into aviation fuel
Agencies gather used cooking oil from major consumers, including hotel chains, restaurants and confectionery companies such as Haldiram, and deliver it to the Panipat refinery, where it is converted into aviation fuel.
Hotels and restaurant chains usually dispose of cooking oil after a single use. Currently, agencies collect used cooking oil and export it.
“There is a large amount of such oil available in the country. The only challenge is collection. While it is easy to collect from large hotel chains, a solution needs to be found for collection from small users, including households,” Sahney said.
He further added, “SAF produced at IOC‘s Panipat refinery has undergone rigorous assessment for lifecycle carbon emissions and traceability, creating a clear pathway for Indian airlines to integrate certified SAF into their operations.”
Additionally, certifications such as ISCC CORSIA ensure the fuel meets environmental and social standards. It also establishes a benchmark for other domestic refiners and industry players to increase SAF production, in line with the government’s vision of reaching net-zero emissions by 2070.
India plans to gradually blend SAF with conventional ATF. From 2017, 1 per cent SAF will be blended into ATF sold for all international flights, increasing to 2 per cent the following year.
