Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research concerns the environmental impact of increasing imports of utilized 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 throughout Europe that imports now represent 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.

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

Used cooking oil imports may boost deforestation

Consumers posture 'growing hazard' to tropical forests

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

They've encouraged using biofuels as an important ways of curbing carbon from automobiles and lorries.

Biofuels are typically a blend 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 indicates they counteract the carbon given off when utilized in engines.

Soy and palm oil were once widely used as parts of biodiesel however this practice has actually been widely rejected because it motivates deforestation.

So for the last decade approximately, the use of utilized cooking oil has broadened enormously as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually ended up being a key component of biodiesel with a reliable market 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 since 2014, there merely isn't adequate chip fat to walk around.

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

Their study recommends this is extremely bothersome when it pertains to effect on the environment.

While UCO is considered a waste product in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has actually long been used to feed animals. The report raises the question of what people in these countries 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 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 used 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 5 million litres of UCO in 2019.

"Because we are purchasing it, they have actually less utilized cooking oil to use on the things that they were previously using it for," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

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

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

Another significant issue with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

Because of demand from Europe, the rate of UCO is frequently higher than palm oil. The worry is that some dishonest traders are merely diluting deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of different types are blended in bulk for transport, and no screening of the materials is carried out, some experts believe fraud is rife.

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

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

He says a brand-new database being developed by the EU will ensure that trading, accreditation and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will have to be registered.

"The mix of revised certification plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will guarantee that no sustainability issues occur in the whole biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he told BBC News.

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

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

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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