Analysing the status, obstacles and recommendations for WCOs of restaurants as biodiesel feedstocks in China from supply chain’ perspectives

The raw material supply bottleneck is one of the obstacles currently facing the development of China's biodiesel industry. The main objective of this paper is to analyse the demands, possibilities, difficulties and suggestions surrounding the participation of restaurant enterprises in the biodiesel supply chain. Based on an analysis of the overall situation of China's biodiesel supply chain, the authors designed a structured questionnaire to survey 246 restaurant enterprises in Nanjing. The questionnaire mainly included basic aspects of restaurant enterprises, disposal of waste cooking oil (WCO), awareness and attitudes towards WCO recycling, understanding and opinion of biodiesel, and willingness and requirements for participating in the production of biodiesel. Factor analysis was then conducted on the motives of industrial restaurant enterprises for disposing of or recycling their WCO, and cluster analysis was used to classify the 246 restaurant enterprises into three clusters. Finally, the authors suggested ways to promote the development of Nanjing's biodiesel supply chain. The significant findings obtained in this paper will help to encourage restaurant enterprises to become suppliers of biodiesel production and promote the healthy development of the biodiesel industry in China.

► We surveyed the supply chain of WCOs of restaurants as biodiesel feedstocks incuding generation of WCO, recycling behaviour, recycling awareness, knowledge of biodiesel, chances to participate in biodiesel supply chain.
► Poor recycling management, poor awareness, different demands of the restaurant groups were analysed.
► The surveyed restaurants were divided into active group, passive group and middle group based on their recycling motives.
► We proposed improving measures about recycling logistics, public awareness, incentives, services and supply chain coordination.