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Climate change: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study questions the ecological impact of rising 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 conserves carbon emissions by oil.

But such is the demand throughout Europe that imports now represent more than half of the UCO that's made into fuel.

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

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

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Reducing emissions from transportation is showing to be one of the hardest difficulties for governments all over the world.

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

Biofuels are usually 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 counteract the carbon discharged when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were when commonly used as components of biodiesel however this practice has actually been widely rejected due to the fact that it motivates deforestation.

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

Chip fat and other waste oils have ended up being a crucial component of biodiesel with an efficient industry emerging across Europe to collect and process the item.

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

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

Their research study suggests this is extremely bothersome when it comes to 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 available however the flow of UCO is most 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 comparison, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million people, handled to collect around 5 million litres of UCO in 2019.

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

"And they're simply buying more virgin oil which virgin oil is mostly palm oil, since that's the most inexpensive oil offered.

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

Another major problem with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of demand from Europe, the price of UCO is frequently higher than palm oil. The concern is that some deceitful traders are simply diluting deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of different types are mixed in bulk for transportation, and no testing of the products is performed, some specialists 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 state there are robust accreditation schemes in location.

"It is extensively understood that the European Commission has actually taken pertinent actions to entirely suppress unsound market practices in biofuel markets," said Angel Alberdi, EWABA's secretary general.

He states a new database being developed by the EU will make sure that trading, accreditation and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will have to be signed up.

"The mix of revised accreditation plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will guarantee that no sustainability problems arise in the whole biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he informed BBC News.

Others in the field are concerned that the database concept, which was first mooted in 2018, might not be effective in stemming suspected scams.

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

"Rising the demand beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these issues, and risks of using 'phony' UCO, potentially causing indirect effects such as deforestation."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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