Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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

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

But such is the need across Europe that imports now account for 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, experts believe it is also ripe for scams.

Used cooking oil imports might improve logging

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

They have actually motivated making use of biofuels as a crucial ways of curbing carbon from cars and lorries.

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

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

Soy and palm oil were once widely utilized as elements of biodiesel however this practice has been widely challenged since it encourages logging.

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

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

But with the quantity of made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year since 2014, there merely isn't enough 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 extremely problematic when it pertains to effects on the environment.

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

With a population of around 33 million, that's close to 3 litres per head of utilized oil that's gathered and exported to the UK and Ireland alone.

By comparison, 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 used cooking oil to use on the things that they were formerly using it for," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

"And they're just buying more virgin oil which virgin oil is mostly palm oil, since that's the most affordable oil readily available.

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

Another significant issue with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

Because of need from Europe, the rate of UCO is often greater 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 transport, and no screening of the materials is performed, some specialists believe fraud is swarming.

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

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

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

"The combination of revised certification schemes and the pan-EU track and trace database will guarantee that no sustainability problems 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, might not work in stemming thought fraud.

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

"Rising the demand beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these concerns, and dangers of utilizing 'phony' UCO, possibly resulting in indirect effects such as deforestation."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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