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Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study questions the environmental effect of increasing imports of utilized 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 saves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.

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

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

With no testing of what's being available in, professionals believe it is likewise ripe for fraud.

Used cooking oil imports might boost deforestation

Consumers posture 'growing hazard' to tropical forests

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

They've encouraged the use of biofuels as a crucial methods 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 absorb more CO2 indicates they cancel out the carbon discharged when utilized in engines.

Soy and palm oil were as soon as widely utilized as parts of biodiesel but this practice has been extensively rejected due to the fact that it encourages logging.

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

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually ended up being a key component of biodiesel with a reliable industry springing up throughout Europe to collect and process the item.

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

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

Their research study recommends this is extremely problematic 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 actually 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 but the circulation of UCO is likely to be comparable.

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

By contrast, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million individuals, handled 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 things that they were previously utilizing it for," stated Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

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

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

Another significant problem with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

Because of demand from Europe, the cost of UCO is frequently greater than palm oil. The concern is that some dishonest traders are simply diluting shipments of UCO with palm.

As oils of different types are blended in bulk for transport, and no testing of the materials is performed, some experts believe fraud is rife.

The recommendation 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 schemes in location.

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

He states a new database being developed by the EU will guarantee that trading, certification and sustainability information on all bio-liquids will need to be signed up.

"The mix of revised accreditation plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will make sure that no occur in the whole 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, might not work in stemming suspected fraud.

The report from Transport & Environment explains that with shipping and air travel aiming to decarbonise by utilizing biofuels, demand for UCO could double over the next decade.

"Rising the demand beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these concerns, and dangers of utilizing 'phony' UCO, possibly resulting in indirect impacts such as logging."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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