Climate change: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel
21 April 2021
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New research study questions the ecological effect of rising 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 saves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.
But such is the demand across 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 method to show these imports are sustainable.
With no testing of what's can be found in, experts think it is likewise ripe for scams.
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Reducing emissions from transportation is proving to be among the most difficult difficulties for federal governments all over the world.
They have actually motivated using biofuels as a crucial means of curbing carbon from automobiles and trucks.
Biofuels are usually a mix of nonrenewable fuel source and oil made from plants or vegetables.
The reality that these crops can be re-grown and soak up more CO2 suggests they cancel out the carbon given off when used in engines.
Soy and palm oil were once widely utilized as parts of biodiesel however this practice has actually been extensively rejected since it motivates deforestation.
So for the last years or two, the usage of used cooking oil has actually broadened massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.
Chip fat and other waste oils have become an essential component of biodiesel with an effective market up throughout Europe to gather and process the item.
But with the amount of biodiesel made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year considering that 2014, there merely isn't sufficient chip fat to walk around.
According to a report from the project group Transport & Environment, external, more than half of the UCO used in Europe is imported.
Their research study recommends this is extremely problematic when it concerns impacts on the environment.
While UCO is thought about a waste material in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has long been used to feed animals. The report raises the concern of what people in these countries 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 offered but the circulation of UCO is most likely to be similar.
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 collect around five million litres of UCO in 2019.
"Because we are purchasing it, they have actually less used cooking oil to use on the important things that they were previously using it for," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.
"And they're just purchasing more virgin oil and that virgin oil is mostly palm oil, since that's the least expensive oil available.
"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 cost of UCO is often higher than palm oil. The worry is that some dishonest traders are simply watering down shipments of UCO with palm.
As oils of different types are blended in bulk for transport, and no screening of the products is brought out, some professionals believe fraud is rife.
The recommendation of fraud anywhere along the chain of supply is turned down by the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), who state there are robust certification schemes in place.
"It is commonly known that the European Commission has taken relevant actions to completely suppress unsound market practices in biofuel markets," said Angel Alberdi, EWABA's secretary general.
He states a new database being established by the EU will ensure that trading, certification and sustainability information on all bio-liquids will need to be registered.
"The combination of revised accreditation plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will guarantee that no sustainability issues arise in the whole biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he informed BBC News.
Others in the field are concerned that the database concept, which was first mooted in 2018, may not work in stemming presumed scams.
The report from Transport & Environment explains that with shipping and aviation looking to decarbonise by utilizing biofuels, demand for UCO might double over the next decade.
"Rising the demand beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these issues, and risks of using 'phony' UCO, possibly resulting in indirect impacts such as deforestation."
Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.
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Climate Change: Growing Doubts Over Chip Fat Biofuel
breanna31g396 edited this page 2025-01-18 20:38:08 +08:00