Yellow grease
Encyclopedia
Yellow grease is derived from used cooking oil from the fast-food industry. It is used to feed livestock, and to make soap, make-up, clothes, rubber, detergents, and bio-diesel fuel.
It is distinct from brown grease
; yellow grease is typically used-frying oil
s from deep fryers, whereas brown grease is sourced from grease interceptor
s. Yellow grease can also refer to lower-quality grades of tallow
(cow or sheep fat) from animal rendering plants.
Yellow grease is recovered, traded as a marginally valuable commodity, and has traditionally been used to spray on roads as dust control, or as animal feed additive, but has become a feedstock for biodiesel
production.
The term has been in use for some time. A source from 1896 describes it as follows: "Yellow grease is made by packers. All the refuse materials of the packing houses go into the yellow grease tank, together with any hogs which may die on the packers' hands."
It is distinct from brown grease
Brown grease
Brown grease is waste vegetable oil, animal fat, grease, etc. that is recovered from a waste water component called a grease trap . It is the grease that is removed from wastewater sent down a restaurant's sink drain....
; yellow grease is typically used-frying oil
Cooking oil
Cooking oil is purified fat of plant origin, which is usually liquid at room temperature ....
s from deep fryers, whereas brown grease is sourced from grease interceptor
Grease interceptor
Grease traps are plumbing devices designed to intercept most greases and solids before they enter a wastewater disposal system. Common wastewater contains small amounts of oils which enter into septic tanks and treatment facilities to form a floating scum layer...
s. Yellow grease can also refer to lower-quality grades of tallow
Tallow
Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. It is solid at room temperature. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation.In industry,...
(cow or sheep fat) from animal rendering plants.
Yellow grease is recovered, traded as a marginally valuable commodity, and has traditionally been used to spray on roads as dust control, or as animal feed additive, but has become a feedstock for biodiesel
Biodiesel
Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....
production.
The term has been in use for some time. A source from 1896 describes it as follows: "Yellow grease is made by packers. All the refuse materials of the packing houses go into the yellow grease tank, together with any hogs which may die on the packers' hands."
External links
- "Grease Rustlers" by Susan McCarthy. Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
, November 6, 2000.