Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

remarks

354 Comments

New research study concerns the ecological impact 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 need throughout 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 show these imports are sustainable.

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

Used cooking oil imports might increase logging

Consumers posture 'growing danger' to tropical forests

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

They've motivated the use of biofuels as an essential methods of curbing carbon from automobiles and trucks.

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

The fact that these crops can be re-grown and absorb more CO2 suggests they counteract the carbon produced when utilized in engines.

Soy and palm oil were once commonly used as elements of biodiesel however this practice has been widely rejected due to the fact that it motivates deforestation.

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

Chip fat and other waste oils have become a key component of biodiesel with an effective market 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 given that 2014, there simply isn't sufficient chip fat to go around.

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

Their study suggests this is highly problematic when it pertains 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 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 aren't readily available however the circulation of UCO is most likely to be similar.

With a population of around 33 million, that's close to three litres per head of utilized oil that's gathered and exported to the UK and Ireland alone.

By contrast, 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 actually less used cooking oil to use on the important things that they were formerly using it for," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

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

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

Another significant problem with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

Because of need from Europe, the cost of UCO is frequently higher than palm oil. The concern is that some unethical traders are merely diluting deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of different types are blended in bulk for transportation, and no testing of the materials is performed, some experts think scams is swarming.

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 accreditation plans in location.

"It is commonly known that the European Commission has taken relevant steps to totally suppress 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 ensure that trading, accreditation and sustainability information on all bio-liquids will have to be registered.

"The combination of revised certification schemes and the pan-EU track and trace database will make sure that no sustainability issues occur 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 first mooted in 2018, might not work in stemming believed scams.

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

"Rising the demand beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these issues, and dangers of using 'phony' UCO, potentially causing indirect impacts such as deforestation."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

Related subjects

COP26

Paris climate agreement

Climate