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Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study questions the ecological impact of increasing imports of utilized 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 across Europe that imports now account for majority of the UCO that's made into fuel.

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

With no screening of what's being available in, professionals think it is also ripe for fraud.

Used cooking oil imports might enhance deforestation

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Reducing emissions from transportation is proving to be among the most difficult challenges for federal governments all over the world.

They've motivated the use of biofuels as an essential methods of suppressing carbon from vehicles and trucks.

Biofuels are generally a blend of fossil fuel and oil made from plants or veggies.

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

Soy and palm oil were as soon as commonly used as elements of biodiesel but this practice has been commonly rejected because it motivates deforestation.

So for the last decade or two, using utilized cooking oil has actually broadened massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually become a key element of biodiesel with an efficient industry emerging across Europe to collect and process the product.

But with the amount of biodiesel made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year because 2014, there just isn't enough 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 highly problematic when it concerns effects on the environment.

While UCO is thought about 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 people 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 most likely to be similar.

With a population of around 33 million, that's close to three litres per head of utilized oil that's gathered and exported to the UK and Ireland alone.

By comparison, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million people, managed to around 5 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," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

"And they're simply buying more virgin oil and that virgin oil is mainly palm oil, since that's the cheapest oil readily available.

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

Another significant problem with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of demand from Europe, the price of UCO is frequently higher 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 blended in bulk for transportation, and no testing of the materials is performed, some professionals think scams is swarming.

The tip 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 location.

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

He states a brand-new database being developed by the EU will ensure that trading, accreditation and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will have to be signed up.

"The mix of revised accreditation schemes and the pan-EU track and trace database will ensure that no sustainability concerns develop in the whole biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he told BBC News.

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

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

"Rising the demand beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these issues, and dangers of utilizing 'phony' UCO, possibly leading to indirect impacts such as deforestation."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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