2002/-- (a)

BACKGROUNDER

BIOBUS PROJECT: BIODIESEL DEMONSTRATION AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT WITH THE SOCIÉTÉ DE TRANSPORT DE MONTRÉAL (STM)

Urban transportation and climate change

In Quebec, the transportation sector alone accounts for nearly 40% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The different levels of government are firmly resolved to reduce GHG emissions. This resolve is borne out by Canadian and Quebec action plans to fight against climate change, in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol.

A city bus can carry as many passengers as 50 cars… and pollutes up to 18 times less! Mass transit will therefore play a growing role in the fight against climate change. By running on biodiesel, buses can help reduce GHGs and polluting emissions even more, without impairing bus performance or reducing their energy efficiency.

What is biodiesel?

Biodiesel is a methyl diester product made by a chemical reaction between methanol and either vegetable oils (e.g. substandard vegetable oil or recycled cooking oil) or animal fats. As early as 1895, Rudolf Diesel conducted experiments on his first "diesel-cycle" engine by fuelling it with peanut oil products.

The use of biodiesel is gaining popularity in Europe, especially in Germany and France. Although biodiesel is not yet in widespread use in North America, more and more jurisdictions are planning to use it in motor vehicle diesel fuels.

Biodiesel demonstration and impact assessment project

From both a technical and economic standpoint, biodiesel is one of the most practical solutions to reducing the amount of conventional diesel used to operate an urban bus fleet. The biodiesel-fuelled BIOBUS project is designed to:

• demonstrate the feasibility of supplying a mass transit company - the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) - with biodiesel for a one-year period and of using the fuel under actual operating conditions, particularly in a cold climate; and
• assess the technical, economic and environmental impacts of this option on urban transportation.

The project will be implemented as follows:

• STM buses will be supplied with biodiesel from March 2002 to March 2003.
• A final report on the project will follow in spring 2003.
• The STM demonstration project will consume an estimated 500,000 litres of biodiesel in two blends, B5 and B20, which have a mix of 5% and 20% respectively of biodiesel to conventional diesel.

The project implemented with the STM has three distinctive features:

• Biodiesel projects in other countries are being carried out in warmer climates, whereas the STM BIOBUS project will provide a baseline for biodiesel use in a cold climate.
• The vast majority of biodiesel used in other countries is produce from vegetable oil (soybean, canola) grown as a cash crop, whereas the biodiesel in this project comes from agro-industry waste (10% non-food-grade vegetable oil, 45% recycled cooking oil and 45% animal fat).
• The scale of this project is the largest undertaken in North America in the field of urban mass transit. It plans to supply a fleet of 155 buses serving Montréal's downtown.

Project partners

The project has a total value of $1,306,200 and is made possible thanks to the support of various partners.

• Government of Canada

In order to support this major demonstration project of a technology for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the government of Canada set up a partnership including Natural Resources Canada, Canada Economic Development (CED). Environment Canada and the Climate Change Action Fund (CCAF). This partnership is part of the Canadian government's strategy to promote concrete projects that could bring about a significant reduction in GHG emissions. The project will help assess the environmental, economic and social advantages of introducing biodiesel in Canada and will promote the potential marketing of this product as a fuel from renewable resources. Indeed, one aim of the project is to determine the best conditions for introducing a meaningful level of use of this biofuel among transportation companies in Canada and possibly extending its use to a broader range of diesel-fuelled vehicles.

Funding from the government of Canada totals $515,000. It comes from the Technology Early Action Measures (TEAM) component of the Climate Change Action Fund (CCAF) and from Canada Economic Development (CED).

• Government of Quebec

The BIOBUS project is a perfect fit for the kind of innovation pledged by the Government of Quebec in its 2000-2002 climate change action plan. The major lines of the plan include reducing vehicle emissions, supporting research, and developing and demonstrating technology to combat GHG emissions. By analyzing the environmental, technical and economic impact of using biodiesel, the demonstration project will help vehicles move from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Furthermore, the biodiesel is produced by a Quebec company from animal and vegetable wastes. This is why the Quebec government departments responsible for the environment (MENV), transportation (MTQ), industry and commerce (MIC), municipal affairs (MAMM), and natural resources (MRN), as well as the Agence de l'efficacité énergétique (AEÉ) are all partnering in the project.

Funding from the Government of Quebec totals $375,000.

• Société de transport de Montréal

The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) is a key partner in the project, as it will provide the infrastructure to test biodiesel under real-life conditions and will become a technology showcase for other mass-transit companies across Canada. The STM is proud to cooperate closely in the biodiesel demonstration and impact assessment project. STM support testifies to the company's commitment to environmental protection, not only because the biological material added to the conventional diesel reduces GHG emissions, but also because the biodiesel reuses waste oil and non-food-grade animal fats.

STM funding amounts to $368,700.

• Rothsay/Laurenco (Maple Leaf Foods Group)

A subsidiary of the Maple Leaf Foods Group, Rothsay/Laurenco specializes in recycling agro-industry wastes. This firm will meet the challenge of supplying straight biodiesel for the project. Not only will it be a challenge to supply the large quantities of materials, the demonstration project also requires the assessment of biodiesel from three different sources: sub-food-grade vegetable oil, recycled oil and animal fats. Rothsay/Laurenco must therefore adjust its production to meet these requirements on schedule and even respond to any cold-weather constraints discovered as the project unfolds. The physicochemical characteristics of the product delivered will be analysed according to various standards being established for biodiesel.

Rothsay/Laurenco funding amounts to $37,500.

• Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CRFA) and the Fédération des producteurs de cultures commerciales du Québec (FPCCQ)

The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CRFA) is a non-profit organization mandated to promote renewable fuels (ethanol and biodiesel) through consumer awareness and communications with government. The FPCCQ, a CRFA member, represents cash crop producers in Quebec and has the goal of finding markets for Quebec farm produce. In light of the need for sustainable transportation, both organizations joined forces to promote the project, which is designed to demonstrate that it is feasible to supply and use a renewable fuel less environmentally harmful and made from recycled animal and vegetable wastes.

Combined funding by the CRFA and the FPCCQ totals $10,000.

Advantages of biodiesel

Sustainable transportation:

Biodiesel is produced from local, renewable resources, either agricultural products or recycled agro-industry by?products. This project calls for the use of biodiesel produced from recycled agro-industry waste, specifically animal fats and vegetable oils (slaughterhouse waste, recycled cooking oil, non-food-grade virgin oil or agricultural surplus). These products would otherwise be dumped or discarded into the environment possibly releasing methane, a greenhouse gas.

Reduction of GHG emissions: Biodiesel helps in three ways:

• Biodiesel, created from biomass, is a renewable energy source that replaces a fossil fuel. Therefore, practically no GHGs are emitted during its production-consumption cycle.
• Biodiesel combusts better in bus engines and reduces certain emissions, notably organic compounds, whose effect on climate change can be dozens of times greater than that of carbon dioxide.
• Biodiesel could turn the largely overlooked potential of certain wastes into valuable by-products, reducing amounts buried in landfill sites and thus avoiding significant GHG emissions due to methane release.

According to current literature, using B20 reduces GHG emissions, taking the life cycle of the product into account. Findings from the project and from an ongoing study on the life cycle of biodiesel will help confirm these facts.

Reduction of polluting emissions: It is widely recognized that the use of biodiesel has a positive impact on the composition of the exhaust from diesel engines. Because biodiesel is composed of 11% oxygen by mass, even low concentrations make conventional diesel burn better and may improve the performance of catalytic converters. This notably reduces CO emissions send will also reduce emissions of fine particulates and unburned hydrocarbons some of which are known to cause cancer. Biodiesel also has lubricating properties that makes the use of low-sulphur diesel more attractive.

The chart on the top compares emissions from B20 to those from conventional diesel (Source: National Biodiesel Board - U.S.). The BIOBUS project aims to assess the impacts on a bus fleet operated in Montréal, but the results could apply across Canada.

Easy implementation:

Unlike other alternative fuels, biodiesel in 5% to 20% blends is very well suited to the existing infrastructure for the distribution and delivery of conventional fuel. Moreover, it can be used without changing the diesel engines of the current bus fleet. The only aspect of the project that will require close scrutiny and special checks is the use of biodiesel in cold weather.

Project scope for STM and for mass transit

In order to help ensure air quality in Montréal, the STM is eager to assess, how the use of biodiesel will impact its operations through this demonstration project. The STM Frontenac bus terminal has been selected for the project because it serves the commercial arteries and business centres of downtown Montréal. Very densely populated areas will therefore benefit from reduced exhaust emissions. This table shows the potential reduction in GHG emissions at the Frontenac bus terminal and for the STM as a whole, had B20 been used in 2001.

Results from the demonstration project will serve to document and demonstrate to what extent B20 is a viable and profitable alternative for fuelling city buses.

Project structure

The project comprises two major levels: the technical and logistical level, and the communications level.

The technical and logistical level covers the following aspects:

• Quality of supply: To ensure that STM buses have a reliable high-quality supply of biodiesel, the project calls for both a fuel procurement and delivery process, as well as a quality-control program for pure biodiesel and the B5 and B20 blends. Also the physicochemical characteristics of the product delivered will be analyzed according to various standards being established for biodiesel. The project itself will absorb costs associated with the purchase, blending and transportation of the biodiesel.
• Use and maintenance: To verify that biodiesel is a viable option and to ensure uninterrupted STM service while assessing the impact of this fuel on the STM's operating costs, different buses will undergo cold-chamber tests determine how biodiesel behaves at low temperatures. Data will also be gathered on bus fleet operation and monitoring (maintenance costs, statistics on breakdowns and repairs, kilometres driven per unit of fuel, etc.). This data will make it possible, among other things, to compare bus maintenance costs before and after biodiesel is introduced.
• Emission monitoring: Measuring atmospheric emissions is a key aspect of the project's impact assessment and monitoring activities. Tests on buses to measure emissions from 15 different biodiesel/petrodiesel blends will be conducted in spring 2002, an engine test facility at Environment Canada's Environmental Technology Centre (ETC) in Ottawa will measure the emissions from 15 different biodiesel/conventional diesel blends.

The communications component is important not only to successfully implement the project and ensure buy-in from all stakeholders, but also to enhance the visibility and credibility of biodiesel as a viable alternative for more widespread use after the project. This component has two major aspects:

• Internal communications: The internal communications effort uses a variety of means to reach all STM employees (in-house newsletter, Intranet, contests, etc.). It is designed to help introduce change within the transit company by fostering pride among employees involved in the project. A similar approach will be taken with other partners implementing the project.
• Customer satisfaction and External communications: In collaboration with the STM, the biodiesel project plans to measure the impact of the project on STM customers and on residents of the Montréal area at large. It will then be possible to assess their degree of interest in and awareness of the use of alternative fuels and the efforts deployed at the regional level to combat pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The external communications effort aims to make the public at large aware of biodiesel's beneficial impact on the environment and to promote the use of this new fuel among decision-makers. Communications efforts will include: clearly labelled BIOBUS, information bulletin, partner Web sites, media events, and participation in conferences and symposia.