Climate change: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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

But such is the demand 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 show these imports are sustainable.

Without any testing of what's coming in, specialists think it is also ripe for scams.

Used cooking oil imports might increase logging

Consumers position 'growing hazard' to tropical forests

Reducing emissions from transportation is proving to be among the hardest obstacles for governments all over the world.

They've motivated making use of biofuels as an essential means of curbing carbon from cars and trucks and trucks.

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

The fact that these crops can be re-grown and take in more CO2 implies they counteract the carbon emitted when used in engines.

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

So for the last decade or two, the usage of used cooking oil has expanded massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have ended up being an essential part of biodiesel with an effective market springing up 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 merely isn't enough chip fat to walk around.

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

Their research study recommends this is extremely problematic when it comes to effects on the environment.

While UCO is considered a waste material 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 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 circulation of UCO is most likely to be similar.

With a population of around 33 million, that's close to 3 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, managed to gather around 5 million litres of UCO in 2019.

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

"And they're simply purchasing more virgin oil which virgin oil is mostly palm oil, since that's the least expensive oil available.

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

Another major problem with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

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

As oils of various types are blended in bulk for transportation, and no testing of the materials is performed, some professionals believe fraud is rife.

The tip of scams anywhere along the chain of supply is declined by the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), who say there are robust accreditation schemes in location.

"It is widely known that the European Commission has taken pertinent steps to totally curb unsound market practices in biofuel markets," said Angel Alberdi, EWABA's secretary general.

He says a new database being established by the EU will make sure that trading, certification and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will have to be signed up.

"The mix of modified accreditation plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will make sure that no sustainability issues develop in the whole biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he told BBC News.

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

The report from Transport & Environment points out that with shipping and air travel seeking to decarbonise by utilizing biofuels, demand for UCO might double over the next decade.

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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