Climate change: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study questions the ecological impact of rising 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 across Europe that imports now account for over half 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 believe it is also ripe for scams.

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

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

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

The reality that these crops can be re-grown and soak up more CO2 implies they cancel out the carbon given off when utilized in engines.

Soy and palm oil were when extensively utilized as elements of biodiesel however this practice has been commonly discredited because it motivates logging.

So for the last years or so, making use of utilized cooking oil has expanded enormously as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have ended up being a key component of biodiesel with a reliable industry emerging across Europe to collect and process the product.

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

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

Their research study suggests this is highly problematic 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 individuals 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 nations aren't available however the circulation of UCO is 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 individuals, managed to gather around 5 million litres of UCO in 2019.

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

"And they're just buying more virgin oil which virgin oil is mainly palm oil, because that's the cheapest oil available.

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

Another significant problem with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

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

As oils of different types are mixed in bulk for transportation, and no screening of the materials is performed, some specialists think scams is rife.

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

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

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

"The combination of modified certification plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will guarantee that no problems occur in the entire 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, might not be reliable in stemming presumed scams.

The report from Transport & Environment explains that with shipping and aviation wanting to decarbonise by utilizing biofuels, demand for UCO could double over the next years.

"Rising the need beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these concerns, and threats of using 'fake' UCO, potentially causing indirect effects such as deforestation."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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