Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research concerns the ecological effect of increasing imports of utilized 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 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 research study, external, there's no chance to prove these imports are sustainable.

With no screening of what's can be found in, specialists think it is likewise ripe for scams.

Used cooking oil imports may increase deforestation

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Reducing emissions from transport is showing to be one of the hardest challenges for federal governments all over the world.

They have actually encouraged using biofuels as an essential means of curbing carbon from automobiles and trucks.

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

The truth that these crops can be re-grown and take in more CO2 means they cancel out the carbon released when utilized in engines.

Soy and palm oil were when commonly used as elements of biodiesel however this practice has actually been extensively challenged since it encourages deforestation.

So for the last years or so, making use of utilized cooking oil has actually broadened massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually ended up being a crucial element of biodiesel with an effective market emerging across Europe to gather and process the item.

But with the amount of biodiesel made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year since 2014, there simply isn't enough chip fat to go around.

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

Their research study suggests this is highly problematic when it pertains to effect on the environment.

While UCO is considered 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 people in these countries 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 flow 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 collected and exported to the UK and Ireland alone.

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

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

"And they're just purchasing more virgin oil which virgin oil is largely palm oil, because that's the least expensive oil available.

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

Another significant issue with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of demand from Europe, the cost of UCO is often greater than palm oil. The concern is that some deceitful traders are simply watering down deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of various types are mixed in bulk for transport, and no screening of the products is carried out, some specialists think fraud is swarming.

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

"It is widely understood that the European Commission has actually taken appropriate actions to entirely 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 ensure that trading, accreditation and sustainability information on all bio-liquids will need to be signed up.

"The mix of revised accreditation schemes and the pan-EU track and trace database will guarantee that no sustainability concerns occur in the whole biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he told BBC News.

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

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

"Rising the demand beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these concerns, and threats of utilizing 'fake' UCO, possibly leading to indirect effects such as logging."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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