1 Climate Change: Growing Doubts Over Chip Fat Biofuel
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Climate change: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research questions the ecological impact of rising 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 conserves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.

But such is the demand across Europe that imports now account for over 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.

Without any testing of what's can be found in, experts think it is likewise ripe for fraud.

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Reducing emissions from transport is showing to be among the most difficult challenges for governments all over the world.

They've motivated making use of biofuels as an important ways of curbing carbon from automobiles and trucks.

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

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

Soy and palm oil were when commonly utilized as parts of biodiesel however this practice has been extensively rejected due to the fact that it motivates deforestation.

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

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually become an essential element of biodiesel with a reliable market springing up across Europe to gather and process the item.

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

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

Their research study recommends this is highly problematic when it comes to effect on the environment.

While UCO is considered a waste product in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has long been used to feed animals. The report raises the question of what individuals 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 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 three litres per head of used 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 gather 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 utilizing it for," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

"And they're just buying more virgin oil which virgin oil is largely palm oil, because that's the most inexpensive oil offered.

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

Another significant issue with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

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

As oils of different types are mixed in bulk for transport, and no testing of the materials is performed, some professionals believe scams is rife.

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

"It is commonly understood that the European Commission has taken appropriate actions to totally 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, accreditation 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 guarantee that no sustainability concerns develop 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 first mooted in 2018, may not be efficient in stemming suspected scams.

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

"Rising the need beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these issues, and dangers of using 'phony' UCO, potentially leading to indirect impacts such as logging."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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