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Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study concerns the ecological effect 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 used 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 study, external, there's no way to prove these imports are sustainable.

Without any screening of what's coming in, specialists believe it is also ripe for fraud.

Used cooking oil imports might enhance deforestation

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Reducing emissions from transportation is showing to be among the hardest challenges for federal governments all over the world.

They've encouraged making use of biofuels as a crucial means of curbing carbon from automobiles and lorries.

Biofuels are normally 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 produced when utilized in engines.

Soy and palm oil were as soon as widely utilized as elements of biodiesel but this practice has actually been commonly challenged since it motivates deforestation.

So for the last years or so, using used cooking oil has actually broadened massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have become an essential component of biodiesel with an effective market springing up throughout Europe to gather and process the product.

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

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

Their research 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 actually long been utilized to feed animals. The report raises the question of what people 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 countries aren't readily available however the circulation of UCO is most likely to be similar.

With a population of around 33 million, that's close to three 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 people, managed to collect around five million litres of UCO in 2019.

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

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

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

Another major problem with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of demand from Europe, the rate of UCO is often higher than palm oil. The worry is that some deceitful traders are merely 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 experts believe scams is swarming.

The tip of fraud 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 extensively known that the European Commission has actually taken pertinent actions to entirely curb unsound market practices in biofuel markets," stated Angel Alberdi, EWABA's secretary general.

He says a brand-new database being established by the EU will guarantee that trading, certification and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will have to be registered.

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

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

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

"Rising the demand beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these issues, and threats of utilizing 'phony' UCO, possibly leading to indirect effects such as deforestation."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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