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 questions 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 utilized to make biodiesel it saves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.

But such is the need throughout 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 prove these imports are sustainable.

With no testing of what’s being available in, experts believe it is also ripe for scams.

Used cooking oil imports may boost deforestation

Consumers position ‘growing danger’ to tropical forests

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

They have actually motivated making use of biofuels as a crucial means of curbing carbon from vehicles and trucks.

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

The truth that these crops can be re-grown and absorb more CO2 means they cancel out the carbon emitted when utilized in engines.

Soy and palm oil were when widely utilized as parts of biodiesel however this practice has been widely challenged since it encourages deforestation.

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

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually ended up being a key element of biodiesel with a reliable market throughout Europe to collect and process the item.

But with the amount of biodiesel made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year since 2014, there just isn’t sufficient chip fat to go around.

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

Their study suggests this is highly bothersome when it concerns impacts 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 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 likely to be similar.

With a population of around 33 million, that’s close to 3 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 individuals, handled to gather around five million litres of UCO in 2019.

“Because we are purchasing it, they have less used cooking oil to utilize on the important things that they were formerly using it for,” stated 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 logging in Southeast Asia.”

Another significant issue with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of demand from Europe, the price of UCO is frequently greater than palm oil. The concern is that some deceitful traders are merely watering down deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of various types are mixed in bulk for transportation, and no screening of the materials is carried out, some specialists believe fraud is rife.

The recommendation 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 place.

“It is widely understood that the European Commission has actually taken pertinent steps to completely curb unsound market practices in biofuel markets,” said Angel Alberdi, EWABA’s secretary general.

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

“The mix of revised accreditation schemes and the pan-EU track and trace database will ensure that no sustainability issues arise in the whole 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, might not be reliable in stemming thought scams.

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

“Rising the need beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these concerns, and threats of using ‘phony’ UCO, potentially resulting in indirect effects such as deforestation.”

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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