Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study questions the environmental impact of rising imports of utilized cooking oil (UCO) into the UK and Europe.

Chip fat and other oils are thought about waste, so when they are used to make biodiesel it conserves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.

But such is the need across Europe that imports now account for more than half of the UCO that's made into fuel.

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

Without any screening of what's coming in, experts think it is also ripe for fraud.

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Reducing emissions from transportation is showing to be among the toughest obstacles for federal governments all over the world.

They've motivated using biofuels as an essential means of suppressing carbon from cars and lorries.

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

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

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

So for the last years approximately, using used cooking oil has broadened massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually ended up being a crucial element of biodiesel with an efficient market emerging across Europe to collect and process the product.

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

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

Their research study recommends this is extremely troublesome when it pertains to influence on the environment.

While UCO is thought about 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 countries 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 nations aren't 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 contrast, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million people, managed to collect around 5 million litres of UCO in 2019.

"Because we are purchasing it, they have actually less used 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 and that virgin oil is mainly palm oil, because that's the cheapest oil readily available.

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

Another major 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 deceitful traders are simply watering down deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of various types are mixed in bulk for transportation, and no testing of the products is carried out, some professionals think scams is swarming.

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

"It is extensively understood that the European Commission has actually taken relevant steps to completely 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 make sure that trading, accreditation and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will have to be signed up.

"The mix of revised accreditation plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will make sure that no sustainability concerns arise in the entire 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 effective in stemming presumed fraud.

The report from Transport & Environment points out that with shipping and air travel seeking to decarbonise by utilizing biofuels, need for UCO could double over the next decade.

"Rising the need beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these concerns, and risks of utilizing 'phony' UCO, potentially causing indirect effects such as logging."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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