Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

comments

354 Comments

New research study questions the environmental impact of increasing imports of oil (UCO) into the UK and Europe.

Chip fat and other oils are considered waste, so when they are used to make biodiesel it saves 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 chance to prove these imports are sustainable.

With no screening of what's can be found in, specialists believe it is also ripe for scams.

Used cooking oil imports might increase logging

Consumers present 'growing risk' to tropical forests

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

They have actually encouraged using biofuels as an important ways of suppressing carbon from vehicles and trucks.

Biofuels are normally a mix of fossil fuel and oil made from plants or vegetables.

The reality that these crops can be re-grown and absorb more CO2 indicates they counteract the carbon produced when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were when widely utilized as components of biodiesel but this practice has been widely rejected since it encourages logging.

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

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually ended up being a crucial part of biodiesel with a reliable industry emerging throughout Europe to collect and process the item.

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

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

Their research study recommends this is extremely troublesome when it comes 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 concern 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 nations aren't available however the flow of UCO is likely to be comparable.

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

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

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

"And they're just purchasing more virgin oil which virgin oil is mainly palm oil, since that's the most affordable oil available.

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

Another major problem with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of need from Europe, the cost of UCO is often greater than palm oil. The worry is that some deceitful traders are merely watering down shipments of UCO with palm.

As oils of various types are blended in bulk for transport, and no screening of the materials is brought out, some experts believe scams is rife.

The idea 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 plans in place.

"It is extensively known that the European Commission has taken relevant 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, certification and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will have to be registered.

"The combination of modified accreditation schemes and the pan-EU track and trace database will guarantee that no sustainability issues arise 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 suspected fraud.

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

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

Related subjects

COP26

Paris environment contract

Climate