Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research questions the ecological 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 used to make biodiesel it conserves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.

But such is the demand across Europe that imports now account for majority of the UCO that's made into fuel.

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

Without any screening of what's can be found in, professionals think it is likewise ripe for scams.

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Reducing emissions from transportation is proving to be one of the hardest challenges for governments all over the world.

They have actually encouraged the usage of biofuels as an important methods of curbing carbon from vehicles and trucks.

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

The reality that these crops can be re-grown and absorb more CO2 indicates they cancel out the carbon given off when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were once commonly used as parts of biodiesel but this practice has been commonly challenged since it motivates logging.

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

Chip fat and other waste oils have ended up being a crucial element of with a reliable industry springing up across Europe to gather and process the item.

But with the quantity of biodiesel made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year considering that 2014, there just isn't adequate chip fat to walk 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 suggests this is extremely troublesome 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 long been used to feed animals. The report raises the concern of what people in these nations are changing 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 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 gathered and exported to the UK and Ireland alone.

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

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

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

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

Another significant issue with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of need from Europe, the rate of UCO is typically greater than palm oil. The worry is that some unscrupulous traders are simply watering down shipments of UCO with palm.

As oils of various types are blended in bulk for transport, and no screening of the materials is brought out, some professionals believe scams is rife.

The suggestion 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 certification plans in location.

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

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

"The mix of revised accreditation plans 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 told BBC News.

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

The report from Transport & Environment explains that with shipping and air travel seeking to decarbonise by using biofuels, demand for UCO might double over the next decade.

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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