Every hotel, restaurant and food factory in Sri Lanka generates used cooking oil. Poured away, it clogs drains, fouls wastewater and creates a disposal liability. Converted to biodiesel, that same waste oil becomes a clean-burning fuel for diesel engines, turning a problem into a resource.
How biodiesel is made
Biodiesel is produced by transesterification, reacting oils or fats with an alcohol (typically methanol) and a catalyst to produce fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), the technical name for biodiesel, plus glycerine as a by-product. The result is a fuel that behaves much like conventional diesel but burns cleaner.
What you can make it from
- Used cooking oil (UCO), the primary feedstock, collected from hotels, restaurants, canteens and food factories.
- Other waste oils and fats that would otherwise be discarded.
Using waste oil rather than virgin crops avoids the food-versus-fuel problem entirely and gives the waste a second life.
Where it is used
Biodiesel runs in standard diesel engines, either blended with diesel or, with the right setup, as a higher-concentration fuel:
- Vehicle fleets, trucks, buses and service vehicles;
- Standby and prime generators;
- Industrial and agricultural machinery.
Blends are described by their biodiesel percentage, for example B5 (5% biodiesel) up to B100 (pure), with lower blends being the easiest drop-in.
The benefits
- Cleaner combustion, lower particulate and smoke emissions than straight diesel.
- Lower lifecycle carbon, the feedstock is waste, not fossil fuel.
- Waste diverted, used oil is kept out of drains and waterways.
- A degree of price insulation, a locally produced fuel hedges against imported diesel.
What to consider
Two things matter most: a reliable supply of quality feedstock (a steady UCO collection arrangement), and engine compatibility, choosing a blend that suits your engines and respects manufacturer guidance, with fuel made to a consistent quality standard. Get those right and biodiesel slots into your existing fleet or gensets with minimal disruption.
Bio Fuel Lanka can structure UCO collection and biodiesel supply for your operation. See how biodiesel fits the wider picture in the factory energy guide, explore our biodiesel solutions, or get in touch.