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Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research concerns the ecological 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 need across Europe that imports now account for 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.

Without any testing of what's coming in, experts think it is also ripe for fraud.

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

They have actually encouraged using biofuels as an essential ways of from automobiles and trucks.

Biofuels are generally a blend of fossil fuel and oil made from plants or veggies.

The fact that these crops can be re-grown and absorb more CO2 means they cancel out the carbon released when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were once widely utilized as components of biodiesel but this practice has actually been commonly rejected since it encourages logging.

So for the last years or two, making use of utilized cooking oil has actually broadened enormously as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have ended up being a key element of biodiesel with an efficient industry emerging throughout Europe to collect and process the product.

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

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

Their study suggests this is highly problematic when it pertains to effect on the environment.

While UCO is considered 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 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 nations aren't offered but the flow of UCO is likely to be similar.

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

By comparison, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million individuals, handled to gather around five million litres of UCO in 2019.

"Because we are purchasing it, they have actually less utilized cooking oil to utilize on the important things that they were previously using it for," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

"And they're simply buying more virgin oil and that virgin oil is largely palm oil, because that's the most affordable oil offered.

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

Another major problem with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

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

As oils of various types are mixed in bulk for transport, and no testing of the products is carried out, some experts think scams is swarming.

The suggestion of scams anywhere along the chain of supply is turned down by the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), who say there are robust certification plans in place.

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

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

"The mix of revised certification plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will ensure that no sustainability problems emerge in the entire biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he told BBC News.

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

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

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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