Climate Change: Growing Doubts Over Chip Fat Biofuel

Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study questions the environmental effect of increasing imports of utilized 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 saves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.

But such is the demand across Europe that imports now account for majority of the UCO that's made into fuel.

According to the study, external, there's no chance to prove these imports are sustainable.

Without any testing of what's can be found in, experts think it is likewise ripe for fraud.

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

They've encouraged the use of biofuels as a crucial means of curbing carbon from vehicles and trucks.

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

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

Soy and palm oil were when extensively used as components of biodiesel however this practice has actually been commonly discredited due to the fact that it motivates logging.

So for the last decade or two, using used cooking oil has expanded enormously as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually ended up being a key component of biodiesel with an efficient industry emerging across Europe to gather and process the item.

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

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

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

While UCO is considered 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 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 nations aren't readily available however the flow of UCO is most likely to be comparable.

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

By comparison, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million individuals, handled to gather around 5 million litres of UCO in 2019.

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

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

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

Another significant problem with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

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

As oils of different types are blended in bulk for transport, and no testing of the products is performed, some professionals believe fraud is rife.

The idea of fraud 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 taken pertinent actions to totally suppress unsound market practices in biofuel markets," stated Angel Alberdi, EWABA's secretary general.

He states a brand-new database being established by the EU will guarantee that trading, certification and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will have to be registered.

"The combination of modified accreditation plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will ensure that no sustainability concerns occur in the whole 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, may not work in stemming thought fraud.

The report from Transport & Environment explains that with shipping and aviation looking 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 using 'fake' UCO, potentially causing indirect effects such as logging."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.