Oil-rich United Arab Emirates looks to biodiesel

[Gerald]

WATCH: Used cooking oil like this is being converted into biodiesel in a plant in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates

It is 11am in Dubai and already 42 degrees Celsius outside. Inside the warehouse it is barely any cooler.

Although workplaces in the United Arab Emirates are normally fitted with air conditioning, here they have purposefully restricted it to the offices.

"It's the chemical reactions," Karl Feilder, chairman of Neutral Fuels explains.

"They happen at 65 degrees so by keeping the factory temperature higher we expend less energy on the process.

"That makes it more efficient. That's better for the environment and it cuts costs."

He is pointing at the thirty metre long collection of industrial tanks and pipes through which the firm's main product is being made.

The room smells a bit like a chip shop. There is a reason for that.

They are making biodiesel - converting vegetable oil from local McDonald's restaurants so that it can be used to fuel trucks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14619678


Note: 22 August 2011 Last updated at 23:05 GMT

[kraznyi_oktjabr]

Not really surprising in my opinion. Emirs of UAE (especially Dubai) have been looking for alternate profit sources in preparation to inevitable moment when oil reserves run out.

EDIT: With above I mean government support to program.

[Jimbuna]

At last...a use has been found for McDonald's products.

[MH]

Yea McDonald's chips always tasted to me like fried in mazut.:eek:

[papa_smurf]

At least food crops are not been used to make Bio-diesel - dumbest idea ever.

[Osmium Steele]

I hate it when the city bus drives by and I suddenly have a craving for french fries.

[Task Force]

Hmm... but then how are we gonna get each Mc Donald's to make 900barrels of used cooking oil a day...:hmmm:

[Catfish]

There is no need to further treat used vegetable oil if you want to use it in a Diesel engine. Just make sure it is filtered well !
You need a bit of pre-warming in the winter when it gets really cold, apart from that most older Diesels will run it without problem.
Running a Quantum station wagon since 6 years, mostly with rape seed oil and used filtered oil.