Climate change: 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 used to make biodiesel it conserves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.

But such is the demand throughout Europe that imports now account for majority 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 testing of what's being available in, professionals believe it is likewise ripe for scams.

Used cooking oil imports may improve deforestation

Consumers pose 'growing hazard' to tropical forests

Reducing emissions from transport is proving to be one of the hardest obstacles for federal governments all over the world.

They've motivated making use of biofuels as a crucial means of curbing carbon from automobiles and lorries.

Biofuels are typically a blend of nonrenewable fuel source and oil made from plants or veggies.

The truth that these crops can be re-grown and soak up more CO2 suggests they cancel out the carbon released when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were as soon as widely used as components of biodiesel but this practice has actually been widely discredited due to the fact that it encourages deforestation.

So for the last years or so, using utilized cooking oil has actually broadened massively as an for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually become an essential component of biodiesel with a reliable industry springing up throughout Europe to collect and process the product.

But with the amount of biodiesel made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year considering that 2014, there merely isn't sufficient chip fat to go 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 recommends this is extremely problematic when it pertains to impacts 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 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 readily available 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 utilized oil that's collected and exported to the UK and Ireland alone.

By contrast, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million people, handled to collect around 5 million litres of UCO in 2019.

"Because we are buying it, they have less used cooking oil to use on the things that they were formerly using it for," stated Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

"And they're simply purchasing more virgin oil which virgin oil is mostly palm oil, because that's the most affordable 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 need from Europe, the cost of UCO is often greater than palm oil. The worry is that some deceitful traders are just watering down deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of different types are mixed in bulk for transportation, and no testing of the materials is carried out, some experts believe fraud is rife.

The suggestion of scams anywhere along the chain of supply is turned down by the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), who state there are robust certification schemes in location.

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

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

"The mix of modified certification plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will ensure that no sustainability issues arise in the entire biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he informed BBC News.

Others in the field are worried that the database concept, which was very first mooted in 2018, may not be effective in stemming believed scams.

The report from Transport & Environment explains that with shipping and air travel aiming to decarbonise by utilizing biofuels, need for UCO might double over the next decade.

"Rising the need beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these issues, and risks of using 'fake' UCO, potentially resulting in indirect effects such as deforestation."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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