Brazilian refineries are looking to import used cooking oil (UCO) to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as they struggle with limitations in domestic collection and traceability and thanks to the feedstock's higher economic attractiveness.
This residual feedstock is likely to gain greater relevance in SAF projects, given expectations of higher margins from this biofuel compared with biodiesel. Around 1pc of biodiesel produced in Brazil in 2025 used domestic UCO as a feedstock, data from hydrocarbons regulator ANP show.
Brazil currently prohibits UCO imports, but the government is considering creating a quota — still undefined — to allow such imports exclusively for SAF production, Euler Lage, a project manager focused on renewables for the presidential chief of staff, said recently.
If authorized, market participants expect UCO imports to come mainly from Asia, the world's leading producer. Support from the Asian market is likely to be temporary, until other feedstocks with higher or similar added value become available to Brazilian producers.
Brazil's UCO market remains unregulated and lacks official data. Rendering association Abra began representing the UCO sector in January, initiating efforts to structure the market. Abra's initiative ranges from creating product specifications to improving UCO's traceability.
Establishing a feedstock's origin is a key requirement for a product to generate Cbio decarbonization credits under Brazil's Renovabio biofuel policy. The requirement is applicable for credits generated from the use of SAF and other biofuels, such as biodiesel and ethanol.
Abra is working on developing a specific national classification of economic activities codes for UCO. The code is essential for granting official recognition to the activity, allowing companies in the sector to be correctly classified, included in government statistics, and protected by greater legal certainty, Abra president Decio Coutinho told Argus.
The association is also developing an app to record information on UCO collection and movement, aiming to reduce traceability gaps and increase transparency throughout the supply chain.
Abra estimates that Brazil can collect around 2mn metric tonnes (t)/yr of UCO, around 40pc of its edible oil consumption. More conservative projections estimate collection if 500,000-1mn t/yr, according to market participants.
Alternative feedstocks
Other feedstocks such as soybean oil, technical corn oil and beef tallow are also on the radars of Brazilian companies interested in producing SAF via the hydrotreated esters and fatty acids (HEFA) route.
The 17,000 b/d Riograndense refinery, in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, plans to invest in oilseeds canola and carinata, seizing the region's potential for winter crops production. The project's strategic location will allow it to not depend on UCO availability and collection, according to the refinery.
A second production phase of the privately operated 300,000 b/d Mataripe refinery, in northeastern Bahia state, envisages an SAF production project that uses oil from macauba — the Brazilian yellow coconut — as its primary feedstock. Participants expect the refinery to shift all biofuel production to this alternative feedstock as of 2035, replacing UCO and soybean oil.
Both projects aim to initially serve international markets, such as Europe and the US, because of their maturity and demand levels.
Pricing for Brazilian SAF should use the foreign market as a reference until the Brazilian market gains traction.
Brazil currently produces 10,500 b/d of SAF, all in state-controlled Petrobras' Reduc refinery. The country will produce 101,600 b/d by the end of this year.
The national aviation fuel program ProBioQAV establishes a mandate for airlines to gradually reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their domestic operations as of 2027 through the use of SAF. Under the rule, the mandatory GHG reduction starts at 1pc in 2027 and increases progressively until reaching 10pc in 2037.
