What is REACH?
REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals) is the system for controlling chemicals in Europe. It became law in the UK on 1 June 2007.
How might REACH affect you?
Manufacturers or importers of chemical substances need to register those substances when they are manufacturer or imported in quantities of one tonne or more per year. Fuels are not exempt from REACH. In REACH terms, biodiesel is a substance with a complex and/or variable composition and in certain circumstances its different variants require registration. These are described below:
- if you use fresh (i.e. non-waste) vegetable oil or animal fat to make biodiesel, then you will have a registration duty for the biodiesel. In these circumstances, you have manufactured the biodiesel
- if you use waste vegetable oil or animal fat to make biodiesel, then you may be able to use the exemption for substances recovered from waste in Article 2(7)(d) of REACH. For this to apply, the biodiesel you produce must have "ceased to be waste". This could be due to compliance with the Environment Agency's end-of-waste protocol for biodiesel or in line with similar provisions from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency or the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. In these circumstances you have recovered the biodiesel (this is still the case even though the recovery process involves a chemical change to the waste oil/fat). If the biodiesel does not meet the end-ofwaste criteria, then it remains a waste
- if you import (from outside the EU/EEA) biodiesel, then you will have a registration duty for the biodiesel - this applies regardless of how the biodiesel was produced
In the above cases, it does not matter if you manufacture or import the substance for your own use, for supply to others or manufacture for export only. The attached list includes examples of substances that may be used as biodiesel.
What am I expected to do under REACH?
If you want to continue to manufacture biodiesel from fresh oil or to import it, then you will need a registration. Registration means providing a package of information on the chemical to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). More information on registration can be found at the following page:
Registration of certain substances is phased over a period of years based principally on tonnage levels. However, to take advantage of the phase-in time biodiesel producers will need to have pre-registered. New manufacturers or importers may be able to late- pre-register. For information on pre-registration please see the following page:
Companies that are recovering biodiesel from waste oils/fats may be able to use the exemption in Article 2(7)(d). This would apply if the material recovered is the same as one that has already been registered.
| Substances on EINECS that may be manufactured for use as biodiesel | ||
|---|---|---|
| EC number | CAS number | EINECS Name |
| 262-988-1 | 61788-59-8 | Fatty-acids, coco, Me esters* |
| 262-989-7 | 61788-61-2 | Fatty-acids, tallow, Me esters |
| 267-007-0 | 67762-26-9 | Fatty acids, C14-18 and C16-18-unsatd., Me esters |
| 267-014-9 | 67762-37-2 | Fatty acids, C8-18 and C18-unsatd., Me esters |
| 267-015-4 | 67762-38-3 | Fatty acids, C16-18 and C18-unsatd., Me esters |
| 267-017-5 | 67762-39-4 | Fatty-acids, C6-12, Me esters |
| 267-018-0 | 67762-40-7 | Fatty-acids, C10-16, Me esters |
| 269-908-4 | 68390-63-6 | Fatty-acids, castor oil, Me esters |
| 270-457-0 | 68440-46-0 | Fatty-acids, sperm oil, Me esters |
| 271-709-2 | 68605-02-7 | Fatty-acids, fish oil, Me esters |
| 271-715-5 | 68605-14-1 | Fatty-acids, safflower oil, Me esters |
| 271-955-0 | 68647-50-7 | Fatty acids, C16 and C18-unsatd., Me esters |
| 272-898-4 | 68919-53-9 | Fatty-acids, soya, Me esters |
| 272-900-3 | 68919-54-0 | Fatty-acids, sunflower oil, Me esters |
| 273-090-4 | 68937-80-4 | Fatty acids, C16-20 and C16-18-unsatd., Me esters |
| 273-092-5 | 68937-81-5 | Fatty acids, C18 and C18-unsatd., Me esters |
| 273-094-6 | 68937-83-7 | Fatty-acids, C6-10, Me esters |
| 273-095-1 | 68937-84-8 | Fatty-acids, C12-18, Me esters |
| 273-116-4 | 68938-13-6 | Fatty-acids, castor oil, Me esters, hydrogenated |
| 273-606-8 | 68990-52-3 | Fatty-acids, vegetable oil, Me esters |
| 277-893-0 | 74499-22-2 | Fatty-acids, tall oil, Me esters |
| 282-485-0 | 84238-16-4 | Fatty-acids, mustard oil, Me esters |
| 284-974-4 | 85005-41-0 | Fatty-acids, lanolin, Me esters |
| 285-208-1 | 85049-38-3 | Fatty acids, C14-18 and C16-22-unsatd., Me esters |
| 286-065-8 | 85186-80-7 | Fatty acids, C14-18 and C18-unsatd., branched and linear, Me esters |
| 287-029-4 | 85408-67-9 | Fatty acids, C18-24 and C16-24-unsatd., Me esters |
| 287-322-7 | 85480-42-8 | Fatty acids, animal, unsatd., Me esters |
| 287-507-2 | 85536-26-1 | Fatty-acids, butter, Me esters |
| 287-636-4 | 85566-26-3 | Fatty-acids, C8-10, Me esters |
| 287-638-5 | 85566-27-4 | Fatty-acids, C12-16, Me esters |
| 287-823-0 | 85586-20-5 | Fatty-acids, C11-17, Me esters |
| 287-824-6 | 85586-21-6 | Fatty-acids, C16-18, Me esters |
| 287-828-8 | 85586-25-0 | Fatty-acids, rape oil, Me esters |
| 288-011-9 | 85631-62-5 | Fatty-acids, coco, hydrogenated, Me esters |
| 292-898-8 | 91002-21-0 | Fatty-acids, C14-18-branched, Me esters |
| 292-969-3 | 91031-65-1 | Fatty-acids, C8-18, Me esters |
| 292-970-9 | 91031-66-2 | Fatty-acids, C12-20, Me esters |
| 292-971-4 | 91031-67-3 | Fatty-acids, C14-18, Me esters |
| 293-055-7 | 91051-06-8 | Fatty-acids, essential, Me esters |
| 293-066-7 | 91051-16-0 | Fatty-acids, linseed oil, Me esters |
| 293-084-5 | 91051-32-0 | Fatty-acids, palm kernel oil, Me esters |
| 293-086-6 | 91051-34-2 | Fatty-acids, palm oil, Me esters |
| 294-324-1 | 91697-62-0 | Fatty-acids, rape oil, hydrogenated, Me esters |
| 297-410-7 | 93571-83-6 | Fatty acids, C16-24 and C16-24-unsatd., Me esters |
| 297-429-0 | 93572-01-1 | Fatty-acids, olive oil, Me esters |
| 297-436-9 | 93572-08-8 | Fatty-acids, peanut oil, Me esters |
| 305-591-1 | 94733-11-6 | Fatty-acids, C5-20, Me esters |
| 305-759-4 | 95009-32-8 | Fatty-acids, Iris germanica, Me esters |
| 305-761-5 | 95009-33-9 | Fatty-acids, Iris pallida, Me esters |
| 310-005-2 | 102047-28-9 | Fatty acids, C16-18 and C16-18-unsatd., Me esters |
*Note: this substance is included in Annex IV of REACH as a substance exempt from registration