Used Cooking Oil (UCO)

ISCC-certified UCO bought on FFA, MIU, sulphur and a traceable chain of custody

Used cooking oil is the feedstock most sought after by biodiesel, HVO and SAF producers because it is listed in Annex IX Part B of the EU Renewable Energy Directive, so fuel made from it carries a high GHG saving and, in member states that still apply it, double counting toward the transport target. It is bought on a short sheet: free fatty acid (FFA), usually capped at a few per cent to around 5% for premium grades and higher for standard grades; moisture, impurities and unsaponifiables (MIU), typically held to a low single-digit total; sulphur in ppm, which matters for HVO and SAF plants; and iodine value, phosphorus and metals for hydrotreaters. Customs classification is heading 1518, which covers inedible mixtures and chemically modified oils, and is where UCO is normally declared; residues from the treatment of fats such as soapstock and oil foots sit in heading 1522. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 1518.00, a code that covers more than UCO, show China at 2.95 million MT, the Netherlands at 1.29 million MT, Indonesia at 0.32 million MT and Saudi Arabia at 0.09 million MT; Malaysia's declared tonnage under the code is out of line with its declared value and is not quoted here.

UCO carries the heaviest fraud risk of any biofuel feedstock, and the paperwork is the product. The recurring problem is virgin palm oil, or palm residues, passed off as used oil to capture the Annex IX premium. The European Commission and national regulators have examined certification of waste-based feedstocks, the UK Department for Transport opened an investigation into HVO feedstock after reports that virgin palm oil was entering the chain, Malaysia said in February 2025 it would tighten controls on UCO exports, and ISCC has withdrawn certificates from suppliers found in breach. A buyer therefore checks that the collector, every aggregator and every trader in the chain hold valid ISCC EU (or ISCC PLUS for chemical routes) certificates on the scheme's public database, that the PoS volumes reconcile with the collection points, and that the cargo's fatty-acid profile is consistent with used oil. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers UCO between certified collectors and aggregators and biodiesel, HVO and SAF plants on FOB, CFR and CIF terms, against SGS or Intertek certification of FFA, MIU, sulphur, iodine value and phosphorus, a certificate of origin, the ISCC certificate numbers for every link and the PoS. UCO moves in 20-22 MT flexitanks in 20-ft containers and, for larger positions, in heated parcels on chemical and product tankers; CBIL's chartering desk (LaycanDesk) works those tankers. Pricing references are Argus and Platts UCO assessments (CIF ARA, FOB China and Southeast Asia) and the buyer's own ticket or certificate value. Send your FFA, MIU and sulphur ceilings, the scheme you certify under and the discharge port.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.