Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research concerns the ecological impact 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 conserves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.

But such is the demand across Europe that imports now represent more than half 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, professionals believe it is also ripe for fraud.

Used cooking oil imports may enhance deforestation

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Reducing emissions from transportation is proving to be one of the most difficult difficulties for governments all over the world.

They have actually motivated the usage of biofuels as an important means of curbing carbon from cars and lorries.

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

The fact that these crops can be re-grown and soak up more CO2 means they counteract the carbon produced when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were once commonly used as components of biodiesel but this practice has actually been widely challenged since it encourages logging.

So for the last decade or so, using utilized cooking oil has expanded massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually become a key element of biodiesel with an effective market springing up across Europe to gather and process the item.

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

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

Their study recommends this is extremely bothersome when it pertains to effect on the environment.

While UCO is thought about a waste product in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has long been used 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 aren't available however the flow of UCO is likely to be similar.

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

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

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

"And they're simply buying more virgin oil and that virgin oil is mainly palm oil, since that's the most inexpensive oil available.

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

Another major problem with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of demand from Europe, the price of UCO is typically higher than palm oil. The concern is that some unscrupulous traders are just 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 performed, some specialists think fraud is rife.

The recommendation 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 location.

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

He states a brand-new database being developed by the EU will make sure that trading, accreditation and sustainability information on all bio-liquids will need to be registered.

"The combination of modified certification schemes and the pan-EU track and trace database will make sure that no sustainability problems arise in the whole biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he informed BBC News.

Others in the field are concerned that the database concept, which was very first mooted in 2018, may not be efficient in stemming suspected fraud.

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

"Rising the need beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these concerns, and threats of using 'phony' UCO, potentially leading to indirect impacts such as deforestation."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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