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Climate change: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research questions the environmental effect of increasing imports of used 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 conserves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.

But such is the need throughout Europe that imports now represent more than half of the UCO that's made into fuel.

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

With no screening of what's coming in, specialists believe it is likewise ripe for fraud.

Used cooking oil imports may boost deforestation

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

They have actually encouraged making use of biofuels as an important ways of curbing carbon from automobiles and trucks.

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

The reality that these crops can be re-grown and absorb more CO2 suggests they cancel out the carbon released when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were as soon as commonly used as elements of biodiesel but this practice has been commonly discredited since it motivates logging.

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

Chip fat and other waste oils have ended up being an essential element 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 since 2014, there merely isn't adequate chip fat to go around.

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

Their study suggests this is highly bothersome when it comes to effect on the environment.

While UCO is considered a waste material in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has long been utilized to feed animals. The report raises the concern 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 nations aren't offered but the circulation of UCO is most likely to be similar.

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

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

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

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

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

Another major problem with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

Because of need from Europe, the rate of UCO is often higher than palm oil. The worry is that some unscrupulous traders are merely diluting shipments of UCO with palm.

As oils of different types are blended in bulk for transportation, and no testing of the products is performed, some professionals believe scams is swarming.

The idea of fraud anywhere along the chain of supply is declined by the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), who say there are robust certification plans in location.

"It is extensively understood that the European Commission has taken relevant actions to completely suppress unsound market practices in biofuel markets," said Angel Alberdi, EWABA's secretary general.

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

"The mix of revised accreditation plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will guarantee that no sustainability problems occur in the entire biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he told BBC News.

Others in the field are worried that the database idea, which was first mooted in 2018, might not work in stemming believed fraud.

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

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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