Thailand’s Used Cooking Oil Revolution: From Restaurants to Biofuel

How Much Used Cooking Oil Does Thailand Actually Produce?

Thailand generated approximately 115 million liters of used cooking oil in 2022, according to the country’s Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO). That is roughly 105,000 tonnes of waste grease every year—enough to fill over 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Most of it comes from restaurants, hotels, food manufacturers, and households.

The real figure could be far higher. A 2024 ScienceDirect study estimates Thailand’s theoretical UCO potential at around 780,000 tonnes annually. The gap between what is generated and what is collected points to a massive untapped resource. Small restaurants and street vendors—dispersed across thousands of sois—account for a large share of the missing volume.

Data from ONE ECO Loop, a major Thai waste-oil trading platform, offers a snapshot of where collection is working. Restaurants and hotels represent roughly 38% of registered UCO sellers on their network. Bangkok leads formal collection at about 12,400 tonnes, followed by Chon Buri (~8,750 tonnes) and Samut Prakan (~6,200 tonnes). The numbers suggest tens of thousands of tonnes from the hospitality sector already reach bioenergy feedstock streams. The rest is still slipping through the cracks.

Where Does Thailand’s UCO Go? From Road Diesel to Aviation Fuel

Thailand’s road diesel market has long relied on palm oil-based biodiesel. The country introduced a B7 blending mandate—7% biodiesel mixed with conventional diesel—as a cornerstone of its transport fuel policy. High crude palm oil prices forced a temporary reduction to B5 in November 2024, but officials planned a return to B7 by early 2026, according to Quantum Commodity Intelligence. The government has also pushed higher blends: B20 was subsidized at a 5 baht per liter discount in April 2026 to ease logistics costs.

Yet the biggest demand shock for UCO is coming from the sky, not the road. Thailand’s Alternative Energy Development Plan (AEDP) 2024 mandates a 1% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) blend starting in 2026, scaling to 8% by 2036. For the first phase, the government designated UCO as the primary domestic feedstock. The plan estimates roughly 58,000 metric tons of ICAO-eligible UCO are available domestically, yielding about 34 million liters of SAF.

Bangchak Corporation has moved fastest. In March 2024, it expanded its “Fry to Fly” (and “No Refry”) campaign to 162 service stations nationwide, letting households and businesses drop off used cooking oil for SAF feedstock. The company’s SAF production unit at its Phra Khanong refinery became operational in early 2025, with reported capacity of roughly 1 million liters per day of neat SAF. That makes it Thailand’s first commercial-scale SAF facility.

Corporate partnerships are locking in supply. In March 2025, Thailand’s Ministry of Industry signed an MOU with six major firms—Central Group, Thai Beverage, Charoen Pokphand Foods, Thai President Foods, the Thai Food Processors Association, and Bangchak—to build a nationwide UCO supply chain. The agreement formalizes collection from large food-service operators and ties it directly into Bangchak’s refinery.

The maritime sector is joining too. PTT Oil and Retail Business (OR) signed an agreement with Regional Container Lines in 2025 to supply Bio-VLSFO derived from used cooking oil. As shipping faces tightening emissions rules, UCO-based marine fuel offers a ready drop-in alternative.

The Restaurant Industry’s Role in Feedstock Supply

Restaurants are the front line of UCO collection. Every pad thai stall, fried chicken shop, and hotel kitchen produces grease that can become fuel. The question is whether it enters a formal collection stream or gets poured down a drain.

Large chains and hotels have the easiest path. Corporate partnerships like the Ministry of Industry MOU give major food processors direct pipelines to refiners. For independent restaurants, the economics are simpler but still compelling. Collection platforms like ONE ECO Loop and community buyers typically pay around 20 baht per kilogram of UCO. That is not retirement money, but it turns a waste disposal cost into revenue.

The quality matters. UCO destined for SAF or biodiesel must meet processing standards—low water content, minimal food debris, and acceptable free fatty acid levels. Refineries run pre-treatment steps to clean feedstock, but heavily contaminated oil raises costs. Restaurants that filter and store UCO properly fetch better prices and keep collection partners coming back.

Bangchak’s retail collection network is designed partly to reach smaller players. By accepting household and small-business UCO at ordinary petrol stations, the program pulls grease from sources that would never contract directly with a refinery. The model treats every liter as valuable, whether it comes from a five-star hotel or a roadside som tam cart.

Local Initiatives Making UCO Collection Work

National headlines focus on Bangchak and PTT, but some of the most creative UCO work is happening at the municipal level. These programs prove that collection works when it is designed around local habits and incentives.

Surat Thani Municipality launched its “Waste Not, Want Not” initiative in October 2024, partnering with New Biodiesel Company. Residents could exchange 2 kilograms of used cooking oil for one bottle of fresh Rin Tip vegetable oil. Collection ran every Friday at the Old Civil Registration Building. The pilot ran through October 2025 and targeted a simple behavioral swap: trade waste for something useful. It also kept grease out of drains, where it clogs pipes and contaminates waterways.

Tyson Foods Thailand ran a similar community exchange with Thanachok Group in Bangsaothong and Thung Khwang. Households traded UCO for fresh cooking oil, creating a closed loop between kitchen and refinery. Thanachok Group, an integrated vegetable oil business, handles conversion into biodiesel.

Technology is starting to help. In March 2026, Bangchak planned to pilot automated “Ucollect Boxes” with Indonesia-based Noovoleum at selected Bangkok locations. These units use quality sensors to verify oil standards and a digital app to pay users instantly. If the pilot succeeds, automated collection could scale to malls, condo complexes, and fresh markets—places where foot traffic is high but staffing a collection booth is impractical.

Academic institutions are exploring parallel paths. Chulalongkorn University researchers developed potassium liquid soap from UCO as part of a circular economy project. Not every litre of waste grease needs to become fuel. Some can become cleaning products, extending the value chain before refining ever enters the picture.

Environmental Benefits: How Much Carbon Does UCO Biofuel Really Save?

The environmental case for UCO biofuel is strong—and it has been tested specifically in Thailand. A landmark 2009 lifecycle assessment by Pleanjai et al., published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, analyzed the full production and combustion chain of UCO-based biodiesel in the Thai transport sector. The study remains the standard Thai reference for UCO emissions accounting.

Modern benchmarks put the savings in stark terms. A 2025 survey-based study by Hu et al. estimated lifecycle CO2 emissions for UCO biodiesel at approximately 359 kg per tonne of fuel. That is roughly 11.6% of petroleum diesel’s carbon intensity, implying an 88% reduction in CO2 emissions. The production stage—transesterification, purification, and transport—accounts for about 77.5% of the remaining footprint. Switching to cleaner process energy could cut that by another 20-23%.

SAF from UCO delivers comparable benefits. Industry assessments cited by The Thaiger indicate UCO-derived SAF reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% compared to conventional jet fuel. For an aviation sector under pressure to decarbonize, that is a meaningful near-term bridge.

Beyond carbon, UCO collection solves a waste problem. Grease poured into drains solidifies and blocks municipal sewer systems. It contaminates rivers and soil. Every kilogram collected for fuel is a kilogram kept out of the environment. Thailand’s Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economic strategy explicitly bundles waste-to-energy programs under its sustainability umbrella. UCO collection fits the model perfectly.

Challenges and the Road Ahead

Despite the momentum, Thailand’s UCO-to-fuel chain still faces real gaps. The biggest is collection infrastructure. Small restaurants and street vendors—arguably the largest source—lack easy drop-off points. A cook running a stall in Chiang Mai or a floating market in Ayutthaya is unlikely to drive UCO to a Bangchak station. Bridging that last mile requires either mobile collection, hyperlocal aggregators, or partnerships with market management.

Competition for feedstock is intensifying. Road biodiesel, SAF, and marine biofuel all want the same UCO pool. Thailand’s B7 and B20 mandates create baseline demand for palm oil biodiesel, but UCO is increasingly diverted to higher-value aviation and marine markets. If UCO prices rise too far, road biodiesel producers may struggle to compete. The government will need to decide whether to prioritize domestic transport blends or export-facing aviation decarbonization.

Quality control is another hurdle. UCO from different sources varies widely in water content, acidity, and contamination. Refineries must run pre-treatment, which adds cost. Automated solutions like the Ucollect Box could help by verifying quality at the point of collection, but scaling that nationally will take years.

Policy clarity matters too. Biofuel subsidies were extended through September 2026 under the Oil Fuel Fund, but the government has signaled a gradual phase-out as EV adoption rises. The AEDP 2024 lowered long-term on-road biofuel consumption targets partly because of the EV transition. UCO’s future may lie less in road transport and more in aviation and shipping—sectors that cannot electrify as easily.

Thailand has the feedstock, the refining capacity, and the policy framework. What it needs now is the logistics layer that connects every restaurant kitchen to the fuel pump or jet engine. The 105,000 tonnes already collected are a start. The 780,000 tonnes still floating in the theoretical column represent the real prize.

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