Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

remarks

354 Comments

New research study questions the ecological impact of increasing imports of utilized cooking oil (UCO) into the UK and Europe.

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

But such is the need across Europe that imports now account for majority of the UCO that's made into fuel.

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

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

Used cooking oil imports may enhance logging

Consumers present 'growing hazard' to tropical forests

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

They have actually encouraged using biofuels as an important means of curbing carbon from vehicles and lorries.

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

The fact that these crops can be re-grown and absorb more CO2 indicates they counteract the carbon given off when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were when widely used as components of biodiesel but this practice has been widely challenged since it encourages logging.

So for the last years approximately, using utilized cooking oil has expanded massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have ended up being a key component of biodiesel with an efficient industry emerging across Europe to collect and process the item.

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

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

Their research study recommends this is extremely problematic when it comes to influence on the environment.

While UCO is thought about a waste material 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 nations are replacing 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 countries aren't available however the circulation of UCO is most likely to be comparable.

With a population of around 33 million, that's close to 3 litres per head of used 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 collect around five million litres of UCO in 2019.

"Because we are purchasing it, they have less utilized cooking oil to utilize on the important 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 mostly palm oil, since that's the most inexpensive oil offered.

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

Another significant problem with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of demand from Europe, the cost of UCO is often higher than palm oil. The concern is that some unscrupulous 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 swarming.

The idea of scams anywhere along the chain of supply is rejected by the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), who state there are robust certification schemes in location.

"It is extensively understood that the European Commission has taken relevant actions to totally suppress unsound market practices in biofuel markets," said Angel Alberdi, EWABA's secretary general.

He says a new database being established by the EU will ensure that trading, certification and sustainability information on all bio-liquids will need to be signed up.

"The mix of modified certification plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will make sure that no sustainability concerns arise in the entire biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he informed BBC News.

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

The report from Transport & Environment points out that with shipping and aviation looking to decarbonise by utilizing biofuels, demand for UCO might double over the next years.

"Rising the need beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these issues, and risks of using 'fake' UCO, possibly resulting in indirect effects such as logging."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

Related topics

COP26

Paris environment arrangement

Climate