Climate change: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research questions the effect of increasing imports of used cooking oil (UCO) into the UK and Europe.

Chip fat and other oils are thought about 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 represent majority of the UCO that's made into fuel.

According to the study, external, there's no chance to prove these imports are sustainable.

Without any screening of what's being available in, specialists think it is likewise ripe for fraud.

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

They have actually motivated using biofuels as an essential ways of suppressing carbon from automobiles and lorries.

Biofuels are typically a mix of fossil fuel and oil made from plants or vegetables.

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

Soy and palm oil were as soon as extensively utilized as parts of biodiesel however this practice has been extensively discredited since it encourages logging.

So for the last years approximately, the use of used cooking oil has expanded massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have ended up being an essential part of biodiesel with a reliable industry springing up throughout Europe to collect and process the item.

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

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

Their study suggests this is extremely bothersome when it pertains to impacts 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 replacing 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 offered however the flow 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 gathered and exported to the UK and Ireland alone.

By comparison, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million individuals, managed 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 previously using it for," stated Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

"And they're simply buying more virgin oil which virgin oil is largely palm oil, because that's the most affordable oil readily available.

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

Another major problem with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

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

As oils of various types are mixed in bulk for transportation, and no screening of the products is brought out, some professionals believe fraud is rife.

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

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

He states a brand-new database being established by the EU will guarantee that trading, accreditation and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will need to be registered.

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

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

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

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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