Potential of Used Cooking Oil as a Biodiesel Feedstock

Used cooking oil is a potential raw material for biodiesel. Until now, used cooking oil, often called jelantah oil, has been considered waste and discarded unnecessarily. However, this household waste is a raw material with economic value for low-carbon diesel fuel, which can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The emission intensity of biodiesel based on jelantah oil or used cooking oil is approximately 16.89 gCO2e/MJ, equivalent to 0.56 kgCO2e/L. This value, calculated by the California Air Resources Board, includes all production and transportation processes. However, this calculation does not include indirect land use change (ILUC).

According to research by The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), Indonesia has the potential to collect 157 million liters of jelantah oil from restaurants, hotels, and schools in urban areas. This amount is equivalent to 3% of Indonesia's annual biodiesel production. The ICCT even estimates that the potential for collecting jelantah oil from urban households could be much higher, reaching 1,638 million liters or 32% of the country's biodiesel production.

The South Jakarta City Administration, in collaboration with the Rumah Kutub Social Foundation, is campaigning for the "Kampung Tersenyum" (Accepting Oil Donations for Them) program, a used cooking oil collection initiative, including in Gandaria Selatan Village, Cilandak District. The initiative involves a "proactive collection" of jelantah oil from households and culinary businesses, coordinated by local RT (community unit) heads.