Climate change: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research 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 utilized to make biodiesel it conserves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.

But such is the need throughout Europe that imports now account for over half of the UCO that's made into fuel.

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

Without any screening of what's coming in, professionals think it is likewise ripe for fraud.

Used cooking oil imports may improve logging

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

They have actually motivated making use of biofuels as an important ways of curbing carbon from cars and lorries.

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

The truth that these crops can be re-grown and absorb more CO2 implies they cancel out the carbon discharged when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were when widely utilized as elements of biodiesel however this practice has been commonly discredited since it encourages deforestation.

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

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually ended up being an essential element of biodiesel with an effective market emerging throughout Europe to collect and process the product.

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

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

Their research study recommends this is highly bothersome when it concerns effect on the environment.

While UCO is thought about 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 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 readily 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 collected and exported to the UK and Ireland alone.

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

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

"And they're just buying more virgin oil and that virgin oil is mainly palm oil, since that's the cheapest oil offered.

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

Another significant problem with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

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

As oils of various types are blended in bulk for transport, and no testing of the materials is brought out, some professionals believe fraud is swarming.

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

"It is widely known that the European Commission has taken appropriate steps to completely curb 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, certification and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will need to be registered.

"The combination of plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will make sure that no sustainability problems develop in the entire biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he informed BBC News.

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

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

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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