Climate change: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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

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

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

With no screening of what's can be found in, professionals think it is likewise ripe for fraud.

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

They've motivated using biofuels as a crucial ways of suppressing carbon from automobiles and lorries.

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

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

Soy and palm oil were once extensively utilized as parts of biodiesel however this practice has actually been extensively challenged because it encourages 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 become a key component of biodiesel with an efficient industry springing up throughout Europe to gather and process the item.

But with the amount of biodiesel made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year considering that 2014, there simply isn't adequate chip fat to go 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 bothersome when it pertains to influence on the environment.

While UCO is considered a waste product in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has actually long been utilized to feed animals. The report raises the question of what individuals in these nations 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 available but the flow of UCO is most likely to be similar.

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

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

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

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

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

Another major issue with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of demand from Europe, the rate of UCO is typically higher than palm oil. The worry is that some unscrupulous traders are merely watering down deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of various types are blended in bulk for transport, and no screening of the products is performed, some professionals believe scams is swarming.

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

"It is widely known that the European Commission has taken appropriate actions to entirely curb 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 ensure that trading, accreditation and sustainability information on all bio-liquids will need to be signed up.

"The mix of schemes and the pan-EU track and trace database will guarantee that no sustainability concerns occur 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 first mooted in 2018, may not be effective in stemming presumed scams.

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

"Rising the demand beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these issues, and dangers of utilizing 'fake' UCO, potentially leading to indirect effects such as deforestation."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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