New SAF Regulations Set to Boost Food Waste Recycling for Anaerobic Digestion

The AD industry is gearing up for a significant boost, with new SAF regulations set to come into effect in 2026. These regulations will enable AD companies to play a big role in providing feedstocks for SAF production.

The UK has committed to having five commercial SAF plants under construction by 2025, and this mandate is one step in supporting this ambitious goal. 

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“The SAF mandate is one of the key government measures that will shape low carbon fuels policy in the period up to 2050.”

How will Bisviridi support the introduction of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate?

We’re proud that Bisviridi is at the forefront of this evolution. We’ve developed a patented process to separate oil from feedstock during the AD process itself. This groundbreaking approach utilises the existing acidic conditions in AD, eliminating the need for separate energy-intensive oil extraction steps used by competitors.

“We’ve integrated this process within AD, so we don’t need to create a separate process and have all the expenditure that goes into that. We’ve managed to integrate it within an existing process,” explains Harry Hunter, our Technical Manager.

This innovative new technology allows AD facilities to monetise the value of fats, oils, and grease inherent within the feedstock, fully converting this material while diversifying income streams beyond just selling biogas to the grid.

Lee Dobinson, Bisviridi’s Chief Commercial Officer, elaborates, “The refiners of biodiesel have heavy targets to produce SAF, and they have a real issue gaining access to feedstocks. Our product provides them with a highly renewable feedstock that allows them to tap into a new source for SAF production.”

The Current SAF market: What challenges is it facing?

The SAF industry faces a significant challenge in feedstock availability, with demand far outweighing supply. Thankfully, our new process offers a much-needed, key solution: unlocking a new source of high-quality feedstock from the AD industry’s food waste recycling operations.

The industry’s biggest bottleneck is the supply of raw materials to produce SAFs or biofuels, and that’s exactly what we can provide. Bisviridi is in a position where we can give the AD processor the opportunity to supply material to that market in a sustainable and highly efficient way.

We’d like to see more global incentives behind finding alternative feedstocks for industries like this. It’s estimated there are 2-2.5 billion tonnes of food waste per year across the world. If we said, conservatively, that 4% of that waste is oil, it roughly equates to 80-100 million tonnes of oil alone. While the idea that Bisviridi’s process could capture all of this is still a thought experiment, it highlights the impact we could have on the SAF industry in the next few years. Driving more investment into research and development to determine where feedstocks could come from should be a top priority as we gear up for the SAF mandate.

What’s on the horizon for SAFs?

As the aviation industry strives to reduce its carbon footprint, SAF produced from sustainable sources like AD facilities will play a crucial role.

Bisviridi’s innovative process enhances the economic viability of AD operations and contributes to a more sustainable future for aviation. It also highlights the continued demand for diversified income streams for a new product produced by the AD industry, giving that demand continuity for said product.

SAF plane

With the new regulations afoot, the AD industry is poised to become an even more integral part of the circular economy, transforming what was once considered waste into a valuable resource for cleaner transportation fuels.

Our experts would love to talk if you’re an AD operator looking to diversify your revenue streams and do a little more to help the planet on the road to Net Zero. 

Get in touch

If you are interested in our services and would like to get touch, please contact us at:

The Fisheries
1 Mentmore Terrace
London
E8 3PN