Climate change: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study concerns the environmental impact of increasing imports of used cooking oil (UCO) into the UK and Europe.

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

But such is the demand across Europe that imports now represent over 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.

With no screening of what's being available in, specialists think it is likewise ripe for scams.

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Reducing emissions from transport is proving to be one of the most difficult 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 normally a blend of fossil fuel and oil made from plants or vegetables.

The truth that these crops can be re-grown and absorb more CO2 suggests they cancel out the carbon emitted when utilized in engines.

Soy and palm oil were as soon as commonly used as parts of biodiesel but this practice has been extensively rejected since it encourages deforestation.

So for the last years approximately, the use of utilized cooking oil has actually broadened enormously as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually become an essential component of biodiesel with a reliable industry springing up across Europe to gather and process the product.

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

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

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

While UCO is thought about a waste product in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has actually long been utilized to feed animals. The report raises the concern of what people in these countries are 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 readily available however the circulation of UCO is likely to be comparable.

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

By contrast, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million people, handled to collect around 5 million litres of UCO in 2019.

"Because we are purchasing it, they have actually less utilized cooking oil to utilize on the important things that they were formerly using it for," stated 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 least expensive oil offered.

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

Another major problem with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of need from Europe, the rate of UCO is often greater than palm oil. The worry is that some dishonest traders are simply diluting shipments of UCO with palm.

As oils of different types are mixed in bulk for transport, and no screening of the materials is performed, some professionals think scams is rife.

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

"It is widely known that the European Commission has taken relevant steps to completely curb unsound market practices in biofuel markets," said Angel Alberdi, EWABA's secretary general.

He says a brand-new database being developed by the EU will make sure that trading, certification and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will have to be registered.

"The mix 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 told BBC News.

Others in the field are concerned that the database concept, which was very first mooted in 2018, may not be efficient in stemming thought fraud.

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

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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