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Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research questions the environmental impact of increasing imports of used cooking oil (UCO) into the UK and Europe.

Chip fat and other oils are considered 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 over half 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 testing of what's can be found in, specialists believe it is likewise ripe for scams.

Used cooking oil imports may increase logging

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

They have actually motivated making use of biofuels as a crucial methods of curbing carbon from vehicles and lorries.

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

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

Soy and palm oil were when commonly used as parts of biodiesel however this practice has actually been extensively rejected since it motivates deforestation.

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

Chip fat and other waste oils have become an essential component of biodiesel with an effective industry springing up 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 sufficient chip fat to walk around.

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

Their research study suggests this is highly 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 used to feed animals. The report raises the concern of what people in these nations 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 offered however the circulation of UCO is most likely to be similar.

With a population of around 33 million, that's close to 3 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 individuals, handled to collect around five million litres of UCO in 2019.

"Because we are buying it, they have less used cooking oil to utilize on the things that they were formerly using it for," stated Greg Archer with Transport & .

"And they're simply purchasing more virgin oil and that virgin oil is mainly palm oil, since that's the most inexpensive oil offered.

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

Another major issue with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of need from Europe, the price of UCO is often greater than palm oil. The worry is that some dishonest traders are just watering down shipments of UCO with palm.

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

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

"It is widely known that the European Commission has actually taken relevant steps to totally curb unsound market practices in biofuel markets," said Angel Alberdi, EWABA's secretary general.

He says a new database being developed by the EU will guarantee that trading, certification and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will have to be registered.

"The combination of modified accreditation plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will ensure that no sustainability problems occur 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 effective in stemming thought scams.

The report from Transport & Environment points out that with shipping and air travel looking to decarbonise by utilizing biofuels, need for UCO might double over the next decade.

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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