Climate Change: Growing Doubts Over Chip Fat Biofuel

Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research concerns the environmental effect 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 more than half of the UCO that's made into fuel.

According to the study, external, there's no method to show these imports are sustainable.

Without any screening of what's can be found in, professionals believe it is also ripe for fraud.

Used cooking oil imports might boost deforestation

Consumers position 'growing risk' to tropical forests

Reducing emissions from transport is showing to be one of the toughest obstacles for governments all over the world.

They've motivated using biofuels as a crucial means of suppressing carbon from cars and lorries.

Biofuels are generally a mix of nonrenewable fuel source and oil made from plants or vegetables.

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

Soy and palm oil were when commonly used as components of biodiesel however this practice has actually been widely challenged since it motivates deforestation.

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

Chip fat and other waste oils have become a crucial component of biodiesel with an effective industry springing up throughout Europe to gather and process the product.

But with the amount of biodiesel made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year considering that 2014, there just isn't adequate 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 study recommends this is highly problematic when it pertains to effect on the environment.

While UCO is thought about a waste material in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has long been utilized to feed animals. The report raises the question 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 offered however the circulation of UCO is most likely to be comparable.

With a population of around 33 million, that's close to 3 litres per head of utilized oil that's collected 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 purchasing it, they have actually less used cooking oil to utilize on the things that they were previously using it for," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

"And they're simply purchasing more virgin oil and that 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 major issue with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

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

As oils of various types are blended in bulk for transportation, and no screening of the products is performed, some experts believe fraud is swarming.

The idea of scams anywhere along the chain of supply is declined by the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), who say there are robust certification schemes in place.

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

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

"The mix of revised certification plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will ensure that no sustainability problems develop in the whole biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he informed BBC News.

Others in the field are worried that the database concept, which was first mooted in 2018, might not be reliable in stemming presumed scams.

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

"Rising the need beyond levels would increase these issues, and threats of using 'fake' UCO, potentially causing indirect effects such as logging."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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