Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

remarks

354 Comments

New research questions the environmental effect 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 demand 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 other way to show these imports are sustainable.

With no testing of what's can be found in, experts believe it is likewise ripe for scams.

Used cooking oil imports might logging

Consumers pose 'growing threat' to tropical forests

Reducing emissions from transportation is proving to be among the most difficult difficulties for governments all over the world.

They have actually motivated making use of biofuels as an important means of curbing carbon from cars and lorries.

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

The reality that these crops can be re-grown and take in more CO2 implies they cancel out the carbon emitted when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were as soon as widely used as elements of biodiesel but this practice has actually been commonly challenged since it encourages logging.

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

Chip fat and other waste oils have become an essential part of biodiesel with an efficient industry springing up across Europe to collect and process the item.

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

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

Their research study suggests this is highly bothersome when it comes to effects on the environment.

While UCO is considered 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 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 readily available but the flow of UCO is likely to be similar.

With a population of around 33 million, that's close to three litres per head of utilized oil that's collected 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 buying it, they have less utilized cooking oil to use on the things that they were formerly using it for," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

"And they're simply buying more virgin oil which virgin oil is mostly palm oil, because that's the cheapest oil readily available.

"So indirectly, we're just motivating 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 typically higher than palm oil. The concern is that some unethical traders are just watering down deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of different types are mixed in bulk for transportation, and no testing of the products is performed, some specialists believe scams is rife.

The recommendation 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 plans in location.

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

He states a new database being developed by the EU will guarantee that trading, certification and sustainability information on all bio-liquids will have to be registered.

"The combination of modified accreditation schemes and the pan-EU track and trace database will make sure that no sustainability issues emerge in the entire biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he informed BBC News.

Others in the field are concerned that the database idea, which was very first mooted in 2018, may not work in stemming suspected scams.

The report from Transport & Environment points out that with shipping and aviation seeking to decarbonise by using biofuels, need for UCO could double over the next years.

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

Related topics

COP26

Paris climate contract

Climate