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Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study questions 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 saves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.

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

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

With no testing of what's coming in, professionals think it is likewise ripe for scams.

Used cooking oil imports might boost deforestation

Consumers position 'growing risk' to tropical forests

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

They've motivated making use of biofuels as a crucial means of curbing carbon from vehicles and lorries.

Biofuels are normally a blend of nonrenewable fuel source and oil made from plants or veggies.

The truth that these crops can be re-grown and absorb more CO2 implies they counteract the carbon released when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were as soon as widely used as components of biodiesel however this practice has been widely challenged due to the fact that it motivates deforestation.

So for the last years or so, making use of used cooking oil has expanded enormously as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually become a key element of biodiesel with an efficient market emerging throughout Europe to collect and process the item.

But with the amount of biodiesel made from UCO increasing 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 suggests this is extremely 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 long been utilized to feed animals. The report raises the question 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 nations aren't offered however 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 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 five million litres of UCO in 2019.

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

"And they're just purchasing more virgin oil and that virgin oil is mostly palm oil, since that's the most inexpensive oil readily available.

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

Another significant problem with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

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

As oils of different types are blended in bulk for transport, and no screening of the products is performed, some specialists think fraud is rife.

The recommendation 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 location.

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

He says a brand-new database being established by the EU will ensure that trading, certification 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 ensure that no sustainability concerns arise 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 very first mooted in 2018, might not work in stemming believed scams.

The report from Transport & Environment points out that with shipping and air travel seeking to decarbonise by utilizing biofuels, demand for UCO could double over the next years.

"Rising the demand beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these issues, and dangers of utilizing 'phony' UCO, possibly causing indirect effects such as logging."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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