April 2, 2007

Biodiesel: A clean, renewable resource

What is biodiesel?

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel for diesel engines. It is a desirable substitute for petroleum diesel because it can be used in standard diesel engines without any engine modification. Biodiesel is made from rendered animal fat; plant oils, including canola, sunflower and soybean; and recycled restaurant-fryer oil. Non-toxic and biodegradable, biodiesel can be blended with petroleum diesel in any proportion, although common blends are B2 (2% biodiesel), B5, B10 and B20.

What are the environmental benefits of biodiesel?

Over its life cycle, pure biodiesel produces approximately 64%-92% fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to petroleum diesel, depending on the oil or fat used to produce it. As well, by using products previously destined for landfill, the production of methane gas - also a contributor to climate change - is reduced.

What are the societal and economic benefits of biodiesel?

Biodiesel can be produced from local resources, including agro-industry residues that normally go into landfill sites, such as slaughterhouse waste, recycled cooking oil and non-food-grade oils. Giving these products new value creates market opportunities for local industries.

Why is biodiesel being evaluated?

Adoption of biodiesel use on farms has been slow due to high costs, on-farm fuel-handling and storage problems, lack of consumer knowledge and lack of production and delivery infrastructure. The objective of the study was to evaluate the practical uses of biodiesel on farms in order to encourage wider use of the product.

What exactly is this project testing?

Six farmers used biodiesel during the growing cycle of crop production. They kept detailed records of maintenance procedures, hours or hectares of tractor use, tasks, operating conditions, fuel added at each fill and any technical problems and comments about problems associated with biodiesel use. Detailed evaluations have been carried out by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) using the AAFC-instrumented research tractor to test tractor performance with different biodiesel blends. A parallel project at the University of Guelph's Kemptville Campus tested a new John Deere tractor for engine wear resulting from using a year's worth of 5% biodiesel blend.

Where are the project testing locations?

2007-09-05s in Glencoe (near London), Castleton (near Belleville), Watford (near Sarnia), Osgoode (near Ottawa), Cache Bay (near North Bay) and West Montrose (near Kitchener).

Who is supporting this project?

This research is supported by Natural Resources Canada, Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, UPI Energy, Environment Canada and the University of Guelph's Kemptville Campus.