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Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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

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

But such is the need 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 testing of what's coming in, specialists think it is also ripe for scams.

Used cooking oil imports might boost deforestation

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

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

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

The reality that these crops can be re-grown and soak up more CO2 indicates they cancel out the carbon produced when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were when commonly used as elements of biodiesel however this practice has actually been extensively discredited because it encourages deforestation.

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

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually become a key part of biodiesel with an effective industry emerging across Europe to gather and process the item.

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

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

Their study recommends this is highly bothersome when it concerns effects on the environment.

While UCO is thought about 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 individuals 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 countries aren't available but the flow of UCO is most 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 contrast, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million people, managed to collect around five million litres of UCO in 2019.

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

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

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

Another major problem with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of need from Europe, the price of UCO is frequently greater than palm oil. The worry is that some unethical traders are simply diluting shipments of UCO with palm.

As oils of different types are mixed in bulk for transport, and no testing of the materials is carried out, some professionals believe scams is rife.

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

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

"The mix of revised accreditation plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will make sure that no sustainability issues develop 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 very first mooted in 2018, might not be efficient in stemming suspected scams.

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

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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