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Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study concerns the ecological impact of increasing imports of used 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 displacing fossil oil.

But such is the need throughout Europe that imports now represent over half of the UCO that's made into fuel.

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

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

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Reducing emissions from transportation is showing to be among the most difficult obstacles for governments all over the world.

They have actually encouraged using biofuels as a crucial ways of suppressing carbon from cars and lorries.

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

The reality that these crops can be re-grown and take in more CO2 implies they counteract the carbon given off when utilized in engines.

Soy and palm oil were as soon as commonly used as components of biodiesel however this practice has been extensively discredited due to the fact that it motivates deforestation.

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

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

But with the quantity of biodiesel made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year considering that 2014, there merely 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 research study suggests this is highly troublesome when it comes to influence 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 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 nations aren't available but 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 contrast, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million individuals, managed to gather around 5 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 formerly using it for," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

"And they're just buying more virgin oil and that virgin oil is mainly palm oil, because that's the most inexpensive oil readily available.

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

Another major problem with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

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

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

The tip 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 accreditation schemes in place.

"It is extensively known that the European Commission has 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 data on all bio-liquids will have to be signed up.

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

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

The report from Transport & Environment points out that with shipping and air travel wanting to decarbonise by utilizing biofuels, demand for UCO could double over the next years.

"Rising the need beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these issues, and dangers of utilizing 'fake' UCO, potentially resulting in indirect impacts such as deforestation."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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