Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study concerns the ecological 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 utilized to make biodiesel it saves carbon emissions by oil.

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

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

With no screening of what's can be found in, professionals think it is also ripe for scams.

Used cooking oil imports might increase logging

Consumers posture 'growing hazard' to tropical forests

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

They have actually motivated the use of biofuels as an important ways of curbing carbon from cars and lorries.

Biofuels are generally a blend of nonrenewable fuel source and oil made from plants or vegetables.

The truth that these crops can be re-grown and soak up more CO2 indicates they counteract the carbon emitted when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were when commonly used as elements of biodiesel however this practice has been extensively challenged since it encourages logging.

So for the last decade approximately, using used cooking oil has expanded enormously 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 springing up across 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 walk around.

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

Their research study suggests this is highly problematic when it pertains to influence on the environment.

While UCO is considered a waste product in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has actually long been utilized to feed animals. The report raises the question of what individuals 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 readily 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 utilized 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 five million litres of UCO in 2019.

"Because we are purchasing it, they have less used cooking oil to utilize on the things that they were formerly utilizing it for," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

"And they're simply purchasing more virgin oil which virgin oil is mostly palm oil, since that's the cheapest oil available.

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

Another major issue with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

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

As oils of various types are mixed in bulk for transport, and no testing of the products is performed, some specialists think scams is swarming.

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

"It is commonly understood that the European Commission has taken appropriate actions to totally curb 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 guarantee that trading, accreditation and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will have to be registered.

"The combination of revised certification schemes and the pan-EU track and trace database will ensure that no sustainability problems occur in the whole biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he told BBC News.

Others in the field are concerned that the database concept, which was first mooted in 2018, may not work in stemming suspected fraud.

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

"Rising the demand beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these concerns, and dangers of using 'fake' UCO, possibly leading to indirect impacts such as logging."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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