Climate change: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study concerns the environmental effect of rising imports of used 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 throughout Europe that imports now represent majority of the UCO that's made into fuel.

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

Without any screening of what's can be found in, experts believe it is likewise ripe for scams.

Used cooking oil imports might enhance deforestation

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Reducing emissions from transport is showing to be one of the toughest challenges for governments all over the world.

They have actually motivated using biofuels as an essential ways of curbing carbon from vehicles and lorries.

Biofuels are normally a mix of fossil fuel and oil made from plants or vegetables.

The fact that these crops can be re-grown and take in more CO2 means they counteract the carbon emitted when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were as soon as commonly utilized as components of biodiesel but this practice has actually been widely challenged due to the fact that it encourages logging.

So for the last decade or so, using used cooking oil has broadened massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually become a of biodiesel with an effective market emerging throughout Europe to collect and process the item.

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

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

Their study recommends this is extremely problematic when it concerns influence on the environment.

While UCO is thought about a waste material in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has long been used to feed animals. The report raises the concern of what individuals 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 nations aren't readily available however the flow of UCO is likely to be comparable.

With a population of around 33 million, that's close to 3 litres per head of used oil that's collected and exported to the UK and Ireland alone.

By comparison, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million individuals, managed to collect around five million litres of UCO in 2019.

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

"And they're simply buying more virgin oil and that virgin oil is mostly palm oil, since that's the most inexpensive oil offered.

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

Another significant problem with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of need from Europe, the cost of UCO is often higher than palm oil. The worry is that some dishonest traders are simply watering down deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of various types are blended in bulk for transportation, and no screening of the materials is performed, some specialists believe 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 state there are robust accreditation plans in place.

"It is commonly understood that the European Commission has taken appropriate steps to totally curb 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, certification and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will need to be registered.

"The mix of modified certification schemes 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 worried that the database concept, which was very first mooted in 2018, might not work in stemming presumed scams.

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

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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