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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 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 saves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.

But such is the demand across Europe that imports now represent majority 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 screening of what's coming in, specialists think it is likewise ripe for scams.

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Reducing emissions from transportation is proving to be among the toughest obstacles for federal governments all over the world.

They've encouraged making use of biofuels as an important ways of curbing carbon from cars and trucks and lorries.

Biofuels are typically a mix of fossil fuel and oil made from plants or vegetables.

The truth that these crops can be re-grown and soak up more CO2 means they counteract the carbon released when utilized in engines.

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

So for the last years or so, making use of used cooking oil has expanded enormously as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually ended up being an essential part of biodiesel with an effective market springing up across Europe to collect and process the product.

But with the amount of biodiesel made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year given that 2014, there simply isn't sufficient 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 study recommends this is highly bothersome when it pertains to impacts on the environment.

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

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

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

"And they're just buying more virgin oil which virgin oil is mainly palm oil, because that's the most affordable oil offered.

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

Another major problem with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

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

As oils of various types are mixed in bulk for transportation, and no testing of the materials is carried out, some professionals believe fraud is rife.

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 accreditation schemes in location.

"It is commonly known that the European Commission has actually taken pertinent steps to entirely suppress 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, accreditation and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will need to be signed up.

"The combination of modified accreditation schemes and the pan-EU track and trace database will ensure that no sustainability problems develop in the entire biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he told BBC News.

Others in the field are worried that the database concept, which was very first mooted in 2018, may not work in stemming believed scams.

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

"Rising the need beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these concerns, and dangers of utilizing 'fake' UCO, potentially leading to indirect effects such as logging."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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