Climate Change: Growing Doubts Over Chip Fat Biofuel

Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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

Chip fat and other oils are thought about waste, so when they are used 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 way to prove these imports are sustainable.

Without any testing of what’s coming in, professionals think it is likewise ripe for scams.

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Reducing emissions from transport is showing to be one of the most difficult obstacles for federal governments all over the world.

They have actually encouraged using biofuels as an essential means of curbing carbon from cars and trucks and lorries.

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

The reality that these crops can be re-grown and take in more CO2 means they counteract the carbon released when utilized in engines.

Soy and palm oil were as soon as commonly used as components of biodiesel however this practice has been commonly challenged because it encourages logging.

So for the last years or so, making use of utilized cooking oil has broadened massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have become a key part of biodiesel with a reliable 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 considering that 2014, there just isn’t enough to walk around.

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

Their study recommends this is highly bothersome when it comes to effect on the environment.

While UCO is considered a waste product in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has long been utilized to feed animals. The report raises the question of what people 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 available however 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 used oil that’s gathered and exported to the UK and Ireland alone.

By contrast, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million people, managed to gather around 5 million litres of UCO in 2019.

“Because we are purchasing it, they have less used cooking oil to use on the important things that they were previously utilizing it for,” said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

“And they’re simply buying more virgin oil which virgin oil is mainly palm oil, because that’s the cheapest oil offered.

“So indirectly, we’re simply encouraging more logging in Southeast Asia.”

Another major issue with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

Because of need from Europe, the rate of UCO is often higher than palm oil. The concern is that some dishonest traders are just watering down deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of different types are blended in bulk for transportation, and no screening of the materials is performed, some professionals believe fraud is swarming.

The recommendation of fraud 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 place.

“It is commonly known that the European Commission has taken pertinent steps to totally suppress 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 make sure that trading, certification and sustainability information on all bio-liquids will have to be registered.

“The mix of revised accreditation schemes and the pan-EU track and trace database will make sure that no sustainability issues arise in the entire biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain,” he informed BBC News.

Others in the field are worried that the database concept, which was first mooted in 2018, may not be reliable in stemming suspected scams.

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

“Rising the need beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these issues, and risks of utilizing ‘fake’ UCO, possibly resulting in indirect effects such as logging.”

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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