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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 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 used to make biodiesel it saves 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 other way to prove these imports are sustainable.

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

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

They've motivated the use of biofuels as an important methods of curbing carbon from vehicles and lorries.

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

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

Soy and palm oil were as soon as widely utilized as elements of biodiesel but this practice has been extensively discredited because it motivates deforestation.

So for the last decade or so, the use of used cooking oil has expanded massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have ended up being a key part of biodiesel with an efficient market springing up across Europe to collect and process the item.

But with the quantity of biodiesel made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year because 2014, there merely isn't adequate chip fat to walk around.

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

Their research study suggests this is highly problematic when it concerns influence 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 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 offered however 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 gathered and exported to the UK and Ireland alone.

By contrast, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million people, managed 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 important things that they were previously utilizing it for," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

"And they're simply buying more virgin oil which virgin oil is largely palm oil, since that's the most affordable oil offered.

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

Another significant issue with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

Because of need from Europe, the price of UCO is frequently higher than palm oil. The concern is that some dishonest traders are just diluting deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of different types are mixed in bulk for transport, and no testing of the products is performed, some specialists think fraud is rife.

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

"It is widely known that the European Commission has actually taken pertinent actions to totally 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 guarantee that trading, certification and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will need to be registered.

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

Others in the field are concerned that the database idea, which was very first mooted in 2018, may not be efficient in stemming suspected fraud.

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

"Rising the demand beyond levels would increase these issues, and dangers of using 'fake' UCO, possibly resulting in indirect impacts such as logging."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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