Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research questions the environmental impact 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 demand throughout Europe that imports now account for more than half of the UCO that's made into fuel.

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

Without any testing of what's can be found in, think it is likewise ripe for scams.

Used cooking oil imports may increase deforestation

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Reducing emissions from transport is proving to be among the toughest difficulties for governments all over the world.

They've motivated using biofuels as an important methods of curbing carbon from cars and trucks and lorries.

Biofuels are normally a blend of fossil fuel and oil made from plants or vegetables.

The reality that these crops can be re-grown and soak up more CO2 implies they counteract the carbon given off when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were as soon as extensively utilized as parts of biodiesel but this practice has been extensively challenged because it encourages deforestation.

So for the last decade or two, using utilized cooking oil has expanded massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually become a crucial element of biodiesel with an effective industry springing up throughout Europe to gather and process the item.

But with the quantity of biodiesel made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year given that 2014, there just isn't sufficient chip fat to walk around.

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

Their study recommends this is extremely bothersome when it comes to effects on the environment.

While UCO is thought about a waste product in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has long been utilized to feed animals. The report raises the concern of what individuals in these countries 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 offered but the flow of UCO is most likely to be comparable.

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

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

"Because we are purchasing it, they have less used cooking oil to utilize on the things that they were formerly utilizing it for," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

"And they're simply buying more virgin oil and that virgin oil is largely palm oil, since that's the least expensive oil offered.

"So indirectly, we're just motivating more deforestation in Southeast Asia."

Another major issue with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

Because of need from Europe, the price of UCO is typically higher than palm oil. The worry is that some deceitful traders are just watering down deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of different types are blended in bulk for transportation, and no screening of the materials is performed, some experts think scams is rife.

The idea of fraud anywhere along the chain of supply is declined by the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), who say there are robust accreditation schemes in place.

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

He says a new database being developed by the EU will guarantee that trading, accreditation and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will need to be signed up.

"The mix of modified accreditation plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will guarantee that no sustainability issues occur in the whole biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he informed BBC News.

Others in the field are worried that the database idea, which was first mooted in 2018, may not work in stemming presumed fraud.

The report from Transport & Environment mentions that with shipping and aviation wanting to decarbonise by utilizing biofuels, need for UCO might double over the next years.

"Rising the demand beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these issues, and dangers of using 'fake' UCO, potentially resulting in indirect effects such as deforestation."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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