DFW Airport is Taking Used Oil from Restaurants in the Airport, and Converting it into Sustainable Aviation Fuel

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Turning used cooking oil into sustainable aviation fuel at DFW

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport’s environmental efforts include becoming a carbon-neutral airport by 2030 and now turning used cooking oil from its F&B outlets into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

DFW recently set the ambitious goal of reducing its carbon emissions to net zero by 2030. To achieve this, the Texas gateway looked at its waste management challenges as a sustainability and cost-reduction opportunity.

Often called a closed-loop system or circular economy, through a partnership with Neste and Mahoney Environmental, DFW’s waste is now being upcycled to create low-emission renewable fuels that can immediately replace fossil fuels.

Mahoney Environmental, a leading provider of backend services to industrial kitchens across North America, collects, treats, and provides the used cooking oil to Neste.

“When transporting oil from the restaurant to a proper storage facility, there is no room for error, such as a spill in a public area,” said Nate Goodman, project manager at Mahoney for the DFW Airport project.

To take the next step, Neste converts this waste material into renewable diesel or sustainable aviation fuel that is fully compatible with existing engines and infrastructure.

“Any business or city that generates used cooking oil, grease, or a number of other waste materials already has the foundation for creating a circular economy,” said Jeremy Baines, president of Neste US.

The company strains out leftover fries and McNuggets, heats the oil, and adds hydrogen — among other steps — to convert it to jet fuel.

“As we transition away from fossil fuels to renewables and lower our carbon footprint, partnering with Neste has allowed us to close the loop,” said Kris Russell, DFW’s environmental program manager. “The best part is the ease: this is a drop-in solution.”

Over a three-year period, Mahoney Environmental worked with DFW and its concessionaires to enhance the airport’s used cooking oil collection and management system.

Used cooking oil coming from fryers at the DFW McDonald’s restaurants, is being repurposed and converted to fuel in a surprisingly efficient manner.

Dallas-Fort Worth Becomes First Airport To Use Cooking Oil As Jet Fuel

“If you are Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and you have a fryer in your restaurant — you’re recycling oil,” DFW McDonald’s franchisee Chalmer McWilliams said.

DFW is one of the busiest airports in the world and shows the potential of collecting and using waste to fuel society’s transport system.

A conservative estimate puts the volume of used cooking oil generated by the largest 25 airports in North America at 9,600,000 pounds per year — enough to generate nearly one million gallons of advanced biofuels and, ultimately, prevent more than 7,831 metric tons of CO2 equivalent from entering the atmosphere.

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