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Climate change: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study concerns the ecological impact of increasing imports of used (UCO) into the UK and Europe.

Chip fat and other oils are considered waste, so when they are used to make biodiesel it conserves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.

But such is the demand across Europe that imports now represent majority of the UCO that's made into fuel.

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

With no screening of what's coming in, professionals think it is likewise ripe for scams.

Used cooking oil imports might improve deforestation

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

They have actually motivated using biofuels as an essential means of suppressing carbon from vehicles and trucks.

Biofuels are usually a blend of nonrenewable fuel source and oil made from plants or veggies.

The fact that these crops can be re-grown and absorb more CO2 means they cancel out the carbon given off when utilized in engines.

Soy and palm oil were when commonly used as elements of biodiesel but this practice has been commonly challenged due to the fact that it encourages deforestation.

So for the last years or two, using used cooking oil has expanded massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually become a key part of biodiesel with a reliable market springing up across Europe to gather and process the product.

But with the quantity of biodiesel made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year because 2014, there simply isn't enough chip fat to go around.

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

Their study suggests this is highly troublesome when it concerns effect on the environment.

While UCO is thought about a waste material 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 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 countries aren't offered 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 utilized oil that's collected and exported to the UK and Ireland alone.

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

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

"And they're just purchasing more virgin oil which virgin oil is mainly palm oil, because that's the least expensive oil offered.

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

Another significant issue with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of need from Europe, the price of UCO is typically greater than palm oil. The worry is that some dishonest traders are just watering down deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of various types are mixed in bulk for transport, and no testing of the materials is performed, some experts think scams is rife.

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

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

He says a new database being established by the EU will ensure that trading, accreditation and sustainability information on all bio-liquids will have to be signed up.

"The mix of modified certification schemes and the pan-EU track and trace database will ensure that no sustainability issues occur in the entire biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he told BBC News.

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

The report from Transport & Environment explains that with shipping and aviation looking to decarbonise by utilizing biofuels, need for UCO might double over the next decade.

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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