Climate change: over chip fat biofuel
21 April 2021
comments
354 Comments
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 used to make biodiesel it conserves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.
But such is the need throughout Europe that imports now account for more than half of the UCO that's made into fuel.
According to the research study, external, there's no chance to prove these imports are sustainable.
With no testing of what's being available in, professionals think it is also ripe for fraud.
Used cooking oil imports might improve logging
Consumers present 'growing risk' to tropical forests
Reducing emissions from transportation is proving to be among the toughest obstacles for federal governments all over the world.
They have actually motivated using biofuels as an essential means of curbing carbon from cars and trucks and lorries.
Biofuels are typically a mix of nonrenewable fuel source and oil made from plants or vegetables.
The truth that these crops can be re-grown and soak up more CO2 suggests they counteract the carbon produced when used in engines.
Soy and palm oil were as soon as commonly used as components of biodiesel however this practice has actually been extensively rejected since it encourages deforestation.
So for the last decade or so, making use of utilized cooking oil has actually broadened massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.
Chip fat and other waste oils have become a crucial part of biodiesel with an efficient market emerging throughout Europe to collect and process the item.
But with the quantity of biodiesel made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year since 2014, there simply isn't adequate chip fat to walk 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 recommends this is highly problematic when it concerns influence 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 question of what individuals 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 nations aren't available but the flow of UCO is likely to be comparable.
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 contrast, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million individuals, handled to collect around 5 million litres of UCO in 2019.
"Because we are purchasing it, they have actually less utilized cooking oil to use on the important things that they were previously utilizing it for," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.
"And they're just purchasing more virgin oil and that virgin oil is mainly palm oil, because that's the most affordable oil readily available.
"So indirectly, we're just encouraging more deforestation in Southeast Asia."
Another major problem with UCO is the suspicion of scams.
Because of demand from Europe, the price of UCO is often higher than palm oil. The worry is that some deceitful traders are simply diluting deliveries of UCO with palm.
As oils of different types are blended in bulk for transport, and no screening of the materials is performed, some specialists think scams is rife.
The idea 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 pertinent steps to completely curb unsound market practices in biofuel markets," stated Angel Alberdi, EWABA's secretary general.
He states a brand-new database being established by the EU will make sure that trading, certification and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will have to be registered.
"The combination of revised certification plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will ensure that no sustainability concerns arise 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 first mooted in 2018, might not work in stemming thought fraud.
The report from Transport & Environment points out that with shipping and aviation looking to decarbonise by using biofuels, need for UCO could double over the next decade.
"Rising the demand beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these concerns, and dangers of using 'fake' UCO, possibly causing indirect impacts such as deforestation."
Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.
Related topics
COP26
Paris environment arrangement
Climate
1
Climate Change: Growing Doubts Over Chip Fat Biofuel
Hope Googe edited this page 2025-01-12 14:07:46 +08:00