Oil from Super Bowl food is being turned into airplane fuel

Once collected and shipped overseas to either Finland, the Netherlands, or Singapore, the fat will be refined to eventually produce green(ish) fuel.

The most widespread method for this transformation is Hydrotreated Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA), in which purified liquids are exposed to a chemical reaction with hydrogen and catalysts before being distilled.

After being combined with conventional fuel, as unfortunately is custom with most SAFs currently, the mix will power commercial flights whilst emitting 80% less carbon emissions than that of fossil fuels.

Neste has partnerships with several major airliners, including London Heathrow, Tokyo Narita, and San Francisco International, so it’s hard to know exactly where this particular biofuel will end up.

It works with private jet companies too – which data shows are far more damaging to the atmosphere than mass flights over the course of a year.

This idea arrived as part of Neste’s broader program: re-purposing cooking oil and animal tallow from 55,000 restaurants in the US by refining it into sustainable fuel.

In some cities, like Oakland, the process is completely circular with food by-product from chains like Taco Bell and Buffalo Wild Wings put to powering the state’s fleet of trucks and buses.

Beyond this, the company also hopes to play an important role in transitioning global aviation to sustainable fuels in the next decade. By the end of 2023, it forecasts an impressive outlay of 515 million gallons per year.

Indulging in comfort food will never be entirely guilt free, but we can beat ourselves up slightly less with Neste around.