Animal fat is chemically equivalent to diesel

ConocoPhillips is, according to its websites blurb, the third largest integrated energy company in the US and fifth largest refiner in the world. In the U.K. they operate the “Jet” service station brand. They have announced a deal with Tyson, a large animal rendering company, to produce bio-fuel created from animal fat.

Non edible rendering is a process undergone by meat in which the material is heated in a steam jacketed vessel. This simultaneously drives off moisture and releases fat in order to create usable meat byproducts which include soap, animal feed, tallow and diesel.
In two years, ConocoPhillips expects to produce in the region of 175 million gallons of animal diesel a year adding another 15,000 barrels of diesel a day to current stocks. This amounts to about 3 percent of the company’s total diesel output.
A Tyson spokesperson stated,

“We feel that it is a huge step forward as opposed to taking grains which are needed for food around the world and turning those in to fuel.”

PETA is of course outraged.

“A recent report published by the United Nations concludes that the meat industry is responsible for more global warming emissions than all the cars, trucks and planes in the world combined… Clearly, the answer to global warming isn’t to fill gas guzzling cars with ground up remains of tortured animals, it is to go vegetarian, which is something every person can afford to do and should do for the sake of their own health, animals and the environment.”

Personally while I can’t say I agree wholeheartedly with all of their politics, they do have a rather interesting point. This little initiative isn’t anything to do with trying to solve global warming it is because we are running out of oil.
With oil production suffering decline in 33 of the 48 largest oil producing countries, the race is on to find a cheap sustainable alternative. While oil companies are discovering new ways to extract possibly trillions of barrels of oil from oil shale, these techniques have not been perfected and will only become less feasible with current oil production in decline.
I can’t help but question the mental condition of people who would rather invent ways of burning the remains of animal carcasses in combustion engines in million upon millions of vehicles across the world before at least an honest attempt at a clean safe renewable energy source. The main problem being that the world is addicted to oil. Tyson states:

“We won’t be processing animals simply to get the fat to turn them in to fuel. We’re taking a by-product and using that for fuel." 

But I cannot help to wonder if ConocoPhillips and Tyson would really stick to only using meat byproducts if demand began to outstrip supply. How easy would it be to move from food waste disposal to growing these animals specifically for the purpose of powering automobiles if the demand was fierce enough and the profits were high.