Earlier this month, McDonald’s United Arab Emirates division announced that it would partner with Neutral Fuels LLC to build the nation’s first licensed biodiesel plant.
The long-term contract between the two companies means used vegetable oil will be collected from McDonald’s outlets across the UAE and converted into 100 percent biodiesel. McDonald’s UAE will then use the biodiesel to power its logistics fleet, achieving significant carbon footprint reductions along the way.
“The venture involves the Gulf nation’s first plant licensed to make biodiesel,” said Karl Feilder, chairman of Neutral Group. ”The facility will have an annual output capacity of 1 million liters (264,000 gallons). We are taking away the need to import diesel. Biodiesel from the factory in Dubai, the second-largest emirate in the U.A.E., will supply a limited number of companies at first and won’t be available for wider sale.”
Made from organic sources, 100 percent biodiesel can be used in place of conventional diesel producing obvious substantial savings on fuel and better environmental performance of diesel engines. The current vehicles being used under the first phase required no modification whatsoever and are running with no issues on 100 percent biodiesel, according to a joint statement.
Bloomberg reported that the 90 McDonald’s restaurants spread across the UAE require approximately 20,000 liters of vegetable oil to provide Arabs with a daily supply of fried foods, although company officials declined to estimate the venture’s cost or the savings they expected it to generate.
Comment by Eva Libre on July 24, 2011 at 9:30pm
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