Climate change: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study questions the ecological impact of increasing 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 by displacing fossil oil.

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

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

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

Used cooking oil imports may increase logging

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Reducing emissions from transport is proving to be one of the toughest difficulties for governments all over the world.

They've encouraged using biofuels as a crucial ways of suppressing carbon from vehicles 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 soak up more CO2 suggests they cancel out the carbon emitted when utilized in engines.

Soy and palm oil were once extensively used as elements of biodiesel however this practice has been extensively discredited due to the fact that it encourages deforestation.

So for the last decade or so, using used cooking oil has expanded enormously as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have ended up being an essential element of biodiesel with an effective market emerging throughout Europe to collect and process the item.

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

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

Their research study suggests this is extremely problematic when it comes to effect on the environment.

While UCO is considered a waste material in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has long been used to feed animals. The report raises the concern 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 readily available however the circulation of UCO is likely to be similar.

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

By comparison, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million individuals, managed to gather 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," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

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

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

Another significant issue with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of need from Europe, the rate of UCO is often higher than palm oil. The worry is that some deceitful traders are simply diluting deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of different types are blended in bulk for transportation, and no testing of the materials is performed, some specialists believe scams is rife.

The idea of fraud anywhere along the chain of supply is rejected by the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), who say there are robust accreditation plans in place.

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

He says a new database being developed by the EU will make sure that trading, accreditation and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will need to be registered.

"The combination of modified certification schemes and the pan-EU track and trace database will guarantee that no sustainability concerns develop in the entire biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he informed BBC News.

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

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

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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