Background
Used cooking oils are an abundant food residue in southern European countries such as Spain and specially in regions such as Andalusia, where large amounts of this waste are gerenated both in the industrial sector (hospitality sector mainly) and in homes.
In Spain, the HORECA sector (Hotels, Restaurants and Catering) generates approximately 400,000 t/year of used cooking oils (Project PSE PROBIOGAS 2010). Andalusia generates some 58,000 t/year, according to Andalusian Energy Agency data (Biofuels in Andalucía, 2011), and the province of Sevilla generates some 13,000 t/year. These huge figures give us an idea of the potential of used cooking oils for future developments, as well as the environmental problem if they are considered as a waste.
Project LIFE BIOSEVILLE will allow large amounts of used cooking oils to be recicled, thus reducing the environmental impact caused by this waste being disposed of directly into Seville’s public sewage system. Unrecycled used cooking oils are an added burden on wastewater as these are disposed of directly into drains and water resources, which causes environmental degradation. The main negative effects on the environment which can be avoided through LIFE BIOSEVILLE are, among others: • Clogged drains and sewers. • Presence of rats in the sewage sytem. • Increased cost of wastewater treatment in treatment plants. • Risk of intoxication by the use of oils in the manufacture of animal foods.
Air pollution in cities, which is mainly caused by vehicles powered by fossil fuels, has very negative consequences for the environment, the economy, society and public health. In addition to this, the increasing use of fossil diesel in the transportation sector generates a high external energy dependence as well as the emission of large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in non-oil producing countries such as Spain.
EU members states were obliged to develop waste plans that would serve as legal and planning instruments states through the Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC) and its legal predecessors. Law 10/1998 on waste sets an obligation to develop and adopt national waste plans, which were formed by the respective regional plans. Also, this directive allowed local authorities to develop their own urban waste management plans based on the corresponding national or regional plans and legislation regarding municipal competencies.
Prevention is their priority stage, whichs means a reduction of the amount of generated waste and toxicity. This stage includes the consideration of used cooking oil as a by-product rather than a waste. It is therefore essential to have an infrastructure or value chain generated from this particular resource, which should be properly developed and operational. Otherwise, the product will become a waste that must be treated with the usual waste management mechanisms if the system is unable to properly handle it due to the technology, the logistics, the resulting products market, etc.
The EU has established a regulatory framework for air quality for its memeber states through mandatory directives, as it did with waste management. Directive 2008/50/ EC on ambient air quality and cleaner air in Europe updated the previous regulatory framework and introduced new air quality assessment and management requirements, as well as regulations for new pollutants such as particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers. These are the EU targets compared to the level of emissions in 1990: 20% rise in energy efficiency, 20% reduction in greenhouse gases emmissions (CO2) and a 20% of the production to be from renewable energy sources.
According to the Andalusia 2010 Environment Report, published by the Ministry of Environment of Andalusian regional government, particles smaller than ten microns (PM10) and tropospheric ozone are the pollutants showing the worst results, as in previous years. Regarding ozone, exceedances of the threshold values for population information in the industrial area of Huelva and Seville and its metropolitan area have been recorded despite improved results, compared to previous years. A positive trend in the reduction of emissions of tropospheric ozone precursor gases has been observed since 1990, especially in nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions, which stabilizes the emissions of nonmetallic volatile and organic compounds (NMVOC), and a negative trend in the emission of methane (CH4) has also been observed.
According to the obtained results, there is still a long way to go before European requirements on controlling air pollution by ozone are met, such as those contained in the Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution Sixth Action Programme Environment or European Parliament and Council Directive 2001/81/EC (October 23, 2001) on national emission ceilings for certain atmospheric pollutants.
The EU has a clear legislation with regard to the dependence on fossil fuel for energy, in relation with the promotion of the use of renewable sources-based energies. Thus, Directive 2009/28 / EC of the European Parliament and the Council establishes the transport sector's quota of energy from renewable sources to be at least equal to 10% of the final energy consumption in the transport by 2020, which is expected to be met to a high extent thanks to the use of biofuels. In order to meet this target, the biofuels used must comply with a sustainability criteria to ensure its environmental benefits. Directive 2009/30 / EC with regard to the specifications of petrol, diesel and gas-oil, rises the ethanol content in gasoline up to 10% by volume and the biodiesel content in diesel fuels up to 7% by volume.
There is a complementary legislation at national and regional level for the promotion of biofuels. Decree 169/2011, 31 May, establishes the regulation of development of renewable energies, as well as energy saving and energy efficiency in Andalusia, and imposes biofuel use obligations for public transport buses and the vehicles owned by the Andalusian government and its special purpose entities. The target for 2020 is the percentage of biofuel used in regular public transport buses to rise up to 20%, and up to 30% for buses operating in the buffer zones of protected natural areas, and for the vehicles owned by the Andalusian government and its special purpose entities.