Kent News - Cooking oil can be recycled into energy at sites

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Friday, September 3 2010, 6:01

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Cooking oil can be recycled into energy at sites

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Cooking oil in deep fat fryer

Cooking oil can be turned into electricity thanks to a revolutionary process coming to Kent.

From this week used oil can be deposited in special tanks at 16 waste sites around the county and it won't cost the council taxpayer a penny.

The oil is converted to a new fuel called LF 100 to generate electricity which is passed into the National Grid.

The scheme was unveiled by Cllr Keith Ferrin, Kent County Council’s cabinet member for environment, highways and waste, at Tovil Recycling site in Maidstone on Tuesday.

Used cooking oil clogs up sewers and can put wildlife in danger.

LF 100 is produced by Living Fuels, a new company developing the pioneering fuel.

Managing director Ian Collins said one litre can be converted into enough energy to make 240 cups of tea.

The collection tanks hold 1,000 litres, which is enough to power an average home for a year.

The scheme has been rolled out across the country.

He said: "Waste cooking oil is a major environmental problem. It costs utility companies £15 million a year to unblock drains and sewers where the cold oil has congealed and solidified."

Special sensors inside the tanks tell a central control room when the oil tanks are ready for collection.

The tanks are taken to a base in Essex where the impurities are filtered out and the fuel is used to power generators which convert it into electricity.

Mr Collins said: "The process is carbon neutral because the original product is biological and has absorbed carbon dioxide. The carbon has been burned out in the cooking process so it becomes a living fuel."

The company has 160 sites across East Anglia and the South East and has developed the fuel to power small factories from special containerised generators.

Cllr Ferrin said the process has a double effect because it gets rid of a nasty waste product and the resulting fuel lessens dependence on fossil fuels.

He said: "Kent County Council are working towards raising our recycling rate to 42 per cent by 2011 and facilities like these are the way forward.

"We are in a winning situation because we get rid of the oil at no cost to ourselves. It is a very useful addition to our recycling strategy."

New tanks have been delivered to sites in Faversham, Deal, Sheerness, Margate, Sandwich, Herne Bay, Canterbury, Dover, Folkestone, Ashford, Maidstone, Dartford, Sittingbourne and Sundridge.

POSTED: 10/04/2009 11:26:20

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