Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study questions the ecological effect of rising imports of used cooking oil (UCO) into the UK and Europe.

Chip fat and other oils are considered waste, so when they are used to make biodiesel it conserves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.

But such is the need throughout Europe that imports now represent more than half of the UCO that's made into fuel.

According to the research study, external, there's no way to show these imports are sustainable.

Without any screening of what's coming in, specialists think it is likewise ripe for fraud.

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Reducing emissions from transportation is proving to be among the most difficult obstacles for federal governments all over the world.

They've encouraged making use of biofuels as an essential ways of suppressing carbon from automobiles and lorries.

Biofuels are typically a blend of fossil fuel and oil made from plants or veggies.

The reality that these crops can be re-grown and soak up more CO2 means they counteract the carbon released when utilized in engines.

Soy and palm oil were as soon as extensively used as parts of biodiesel however this practice has been extensively rejected due to the fact that it encourages deforestation.

So for the last years or two, the usage of used cooking oil has actually massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have become a key element of biodiesel with an effective industry emerging across Europe to gather and process the item.

But with the amount of biodiesel made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year considering that 2014, there merely isn't adequate chip fat to walk around.

According to a report from the project group Transport & Environment, external, over half of the UCO used in Europe is imported.

Their study recommends this is extremely bothersome when it concerns effect on the environment.

While UCO is considered a waste product in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has actually long been used to feed animals. The report raises the concern of what individuals in these nations are changing the UCO with, when it is exported.

In 2019, Malaysia exported 90 million litres of UCO to the UK and Ireland. Figures for their exports to other European nations aren't available however the flow of UCO is likely to be similar.

With a population of around 33 million, that's close to 3 litres per head of utilized oil that's collected and exported to the UK and Ireland alone.

By contrast, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million people, managed to gather around five million litres of UCO in 2019.

"Because we are buying it, they have actually less used cooking oil to use on the things that they were previously using it for," stated Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

"And they're just buying more virgin oil and that virgin oil is mostly palm oil, because that's the most inexpensive oil offered.

"So indirectly, we're simply motivating more logging in Southeast Asia."

Another significant issue with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

Because of demand from Europe, the rate of UCO is frequently greater than palm oil. The concern is that some unethical traders are just diluting deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of different types are mixed in bulk for transportation, and no screening of the materials is performed, some professionals believe fraud is swarming.

The recommendation of scams anywhere along the chain of supply is turned down by the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), who say there are robust certification plans in location.

"It is extensively understood that the European Commission has actually taken appropriate steps to totally curb unsound market practices in biofuel markets," stated Angel Alberdi, EWABA's secretary general.

He states a brand-new database being established by the EU will ensure that trading, certification and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will have to be registered.

"The combination of revised certification plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will guarantee that no sustainability concerns emerge in the entire biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he informed BBC News.

Others in the field are concerned that the database idea, which was very first mooted in 2018, might not be reliable in stemming believed fraud.

The report from Transport & Environment mentions that with shipping and air travel wanting to decarbonise by utilizing biofuels, demand for UCO might double over the next decade.

"Rising the need beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these issues, and risks of utilizing 'phony' UCO, possibly leading to indirect effects such as logging."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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