1 Climate Change: Growing Doubts Over Chip Fat Biofuel

Daniella Carreiro edited this page 2025-01-18 07:07:20 +08:00

Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

comments

354 Comments

New research study questions the environmental effect of rising imports of utilized cooking oil (UCO) into the UK and Europe.

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 more than half of the UCO that's made into fuel.

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

With no testing of what's being available in, experts believe it is also ripe for fraud.

Used cooking oil imports might improve deforestation

Consumers posture 'growing hazard' to tropical forests

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

They have actually motivated making use of biofuels as a crucial ways of suppressing carbon from vehicles and trucks.

Biofuels are normally a mix of nonrenewable fuel source and oil made from plants or vegetables.

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

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

So for the last decade approximately, using used cooking oil has broadened massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have become an essential element of biodiesel with an effective industry springing up across Europe to gather and process the product.

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

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

Their 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 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 readily 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 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 gather around five million litres of UCO in 2019.

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

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

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

Another major problem with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

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

As oils of various types are blended in bulk for transportation, and no screening of the products is performed, some experts believe fraud is rife.

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

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

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

"The mix of modified certification plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will make sure that no sustainability concerns arise 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, might not work in stemming presumed scams.

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

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

Related topics

COP26

Paris environment contract

Climate