Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study concerns the environmental impact of increasing 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 displacing fossil oil.

But such is the demand throughout Europe that imports now represent over half of the UCO that's made into fuel.

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

Without any testing of what's being available in, experts think it is also ripe for fraud.

Used cooking oil imports might increase deforestation

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

They've motivated using biofuels as an important means of curbing carbon from cars and trucks and trucks.

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

The fact that these crops can be and absorb more CO2 suggests they counteract the carbon produced when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were once commonly used as elements of biodiesel however this practice has been extensively challenged because it encourages deforestation.

So for the last decade approximately, making use of utilized cooking oil has broadened massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have ended up being a crucial component of biodiesel with a reliable market springing up across 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 sufficient chip fat to go around.

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

Their research study recommends this is extremely troublesome when it concerns effects on the environment.

While UCO is thought about a waste product in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has long been utilized to feed animals. The report raises the question of what people 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 countries aren't available but the circulation of UCO is most likely to be similar.

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 individuals, managed to gather around five 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 formerly using it for," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

"And they're just buying more virgin oil and that virgin oil is largely palm oil, because that's the least expensive oil available.

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

Another major issue with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

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

As oils of various types are mixed in bulk for transport, and no screening of the products is performed, some professionals think fraud is rife.

The tip of fraud anywhere along the chain of supply is turned down by the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), who state there are robust certification plans in place.

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

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

"The combination of modified certification plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will guarantee 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 idea, which was first mooted in 2018, may not be effective in stemming presumed fraud.

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

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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