Next stop: For biodiesel A TTC plan to begin burning this cleaner energy represents a triumph over rule by fossil fuel If premier McGuinty sticks to his TYLER HAMILTON Sep. 6, 2004 http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1094422212700&call_pageid=968350072197&col=969048863851
If all goes as planned, the Toronto Transit Commission will announce this month that it intends to run about 180 buses ÷ roughly equal to 12 per cent of its entire bus fleet ÷ on fuel mixed with biodiesel, the city's latest effort to tackle urban smog. Biodiesel is that cleaner-burning fuel derived from animal fats and the recycled oils of soybean, canola and corn. Even old grease from a restaurant deep fryer will do. The project, beginning as a six-month trial, will test biodiesel in newer buses and ones as much as 20 years old. Mayor David Miller is reportedly hyped about the TTC plan. It will be the largest municipal bus project yet in Canada, picking up where Montreal started in 2002 with its 155-vehicle, $1.3-million BioBus experiment. The supply of biodiesel and other renewable fuels today is limited, but proponents of the fuels are optimistic commercial-scale production can emerge locally to meet rising demand. Not only will increased use of biodiesel reduce vehicle emissions but it will also give a much-needed boost to the country's struggling agricultural sector. BioBus in Montreal ran for a year and was a smashing success by most measures. It proved biodiesel, when combined with regular petrodiesel in 5 per cent and 20 per cent blends, could perform in the coldest of Canadian winters without gumming up engines. Carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by 1,300 tonnes during the project, equivalent to taking 400 to 500 cars off the road. Sulphur emissions and nasty particulates that pollute our lungs were also significantly lowered. Imagine if every city and regional bus fleet across the country made the same move? "For us, this could conceivably be one of the major contributors to reducing our (city's) emissions," says Bob Boutilier, deputy general manager of the TTC. "We've done all our engineering analysis, we know what products are out there, and we know what we want to test . . . If it works, even the old buses on our roads can immediately see benefits." Across the country, the biodiesel buzz is catching on: Winnipeg has a project to run about a dozen heavy-equipment vehicles on a biodiesel blend, and there's already pressure to include municipal buses in the mix. Toronto Hydro-Electric Systems Ltd., which has had 330 diesel trucks in its fleet running on biodiesel since 2001, is planning to take one of its buildings "off-grid" by powering it with a generator running on pure biodiesel. "It's an experiment in distributed generation," says Roger Smith, manager of fleet services. In Montreal, the focus has shifted from buses to boats. A project called BioMer, launched in July, is studying 12 biodiesel-fuelled cruise ships as they travel tourist routes through the Old Port of Montreal and the Lachine Canal. The Sine Nomine Group, the consulting firm overseeing the experiment, is involved with another project planned for next spring that aims to set up a biodiesel distribution network connecting Quebec and Ontario. No details have been released, but the likely result will be the creation of biodiesel fuelling stations along the 401-highway corridor, giving owners of diesel cars and trucks a chance to test out the clean fuel on their own. Camile Legacˇ, project director for BioMer, says pure biodiesel is ideal for marine applications. It's more biodegradable than sugar, so accidental leaks or spills won't mess up waterways. It's less toxic than salt, so it won't harm fish. Tourists who breathe in the exhaust, which smells like fresh popcorn, won't have to choke on black smoke. "It's a miracle, really," says Legacˇ. "The black smoke coming out of the pipe just goes away." Biodiesel, which starts to burn at 150 degrees C, is also much less flammable and therefore safer in accidents than regular diesel, which burns at 50 C. And in 5 and 20 per cent blends, biodiesel acts as a mild solvent that can help keep engine systems clean. One must keep in mind, however, that biodiesel only works in diesel engines, meaning a vast majority of vehicles on the road can't fuel up with it. Trains, trucks, boats, buses and light-duty vehicles make up most of Canada's diesel fleet. Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, so far, are the only major automakers selling diesel cars here. By contrast, diesel makes up 40 per cent of the car mix in Europe. That's why when talking about biodiesel ÷ in Canada, anyway ÷ it's also necessary to include a discussion about ethanol, a gasoline additive that in limited quantities can be used today in any gas-guzzling car. Ethanol is a type of alcohol produced from grain crops like wheat or corn. New technologies, most notably from Ottawa-based Iogen Corp., have also produced cheaper "cellulose" ethanol using wood waste and residue from crops, including husks, leaves, straw, stalks and sugarcane bagasse that would otherwise be burned or composted. When added to gasoline, ethanol goes a long way toward battling air pollution. Gas with just a 10-per-cent blend of ethanol has been known to cut particulate matter in half and reduce smog-producing emissions by as much as 25 per cent. Both ethanol and biodiesel are also renewable resources, and because they're mostly made from plant material, any carbon dioxide emissions are theoretically re-absorbed into next-year crops. "For whatever reason, Canada lags far behind the rest of the world when it comes to blending renewable fuels," says Kory Teneycke, executive director for the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association. "This is something that can improve air quality tomorrow . . .but it needs to get into the market. The secret isn't getting a few people to do it a lot, it's getting a lot of people doing it a little." The only major oil company in Canada that voluntarily includes ethanol in its gasoline is Suncor Energy Inc., which operates under the Sunoco brand. Premier Dalton McGuinty promised in his election campaign that he would mandate the oil industry to include ethanol in 5 per cent of its Ontario-bound gasoline by 2007, a figure that rises to 10 per cent by 2010. "It means at least five ethanol plants, it means at least $500 million in investment and it means 3,000 direct and indirect jobs," said McGuinty, first making his commitment last September. Likewise, McGuinty said biodiesel must be included in the province's diesel pool. The mandate is expected to create a large, instant domestic market for biodiesel and ethanol, sparking the creation of local production facilities and new technologies that can drive down costs. It's a controversial move for the Liberal government, one that has already been taken in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and one that behind the scenes the petroleum producers are actively lobbying against. The Canadian Petroleum Products Institute, which represents the major oil producers, is trying to convince Queen's Park that voluntary targets ÷ an "open market model" ÷ would achieve McGuinty's election promise without requiring mandates. Taking on ethanol/biodiesel can be sold as a good-news story for Ontario farmers, who gain a new market The oil companies' desire to control the growth of renewable fuel additives, and not be locked down by mandates, is understandable. Much of the margin on oil production doesn't come at the pump, but along the supply chain to the pump. Bigger margins are made during the refining of oil. If, say, fuel is blended with 10 per cent biodiesel or ethanol at the pump, that's 10 per cent of the end product that the oil company can't directly profit from. Besides, no industry likes being told what to do. "The coalition absolutely holds the view that an open market model is the preferred option versus a legislated option," says Faith Goodman, spokeswoman for the CPPI. "In the end, I think you've got a very powerful coalition made up of most of the players in the sector who believe they have the best plan of success and are intimately working with the government." This "intimacy," however, hasn't sat well with McGuinty or those in the renewable fuel community. "The road to a dirty environment is paved with targets," says Teneycke, who is convinced that McGuinty is going to make good on his promise sometime this fall. A sign that the premier is serious about following through was his decision this summer to move the renewable fuels file from the energy ministry to the agriculture ministry. The energy ministry, in addition to being preoccupied with the province's electricity needs, was also viewed as "too close" to the influential oil lobby, sources say. On the other hand, the agriculture ministry didn't have as much on its plate or as many ties to the oil sector. Besides, taking on ethanol/biodiesel can be sold as a good-news story for local farmers, who gain a new market for their crops and field waste. "The bureaucrats in agriculture are quite gung-ho about this," said one insider. As McGuinty said when he made his promise: "This is a huge boost to rural Ontario." Teneycke says the government can't lose by imposing a mandate. Local jobs will be created in areas that need them. Investment will flow, and innovation will stay in Canada. Harmful emissions will fall. And Ontario gets a little less dependent on fuel imports from other provinces and countries. The province could also reduce a 14.7-cent per litre tax break it now gives to oil wholesalers that blend ethanol and biodiesel into their fuels. The exemption was granted to buffer the higher cost today of producing such renewable fuels, but rising gasoline prices and the lower costs expected to come with volume production helps to level the playing field. Teneycke says ethanol and biodiesel could still be competitive if Queen's Park lowered the existing tax break by nearly two-thirds, a move that would save money for taxpayers. "We think there's a way that (tax exemptions) can be reduced, because the economics for producing these fuels becomes better," he says. Even if a mandate does come in Ontario, big hurdles remain. One is the issue of supply: Can ethanol and biodiesel producers in the province, or country for that matter, keep up with the demand to come via mandate? Teneycke admits it will be a challenge to fill that market need. Boutilier at the TTC says supply is a key concern. Just one garage housing 200 buses can go through a tanker-truck of biodiesel a day, says Boutilier, adding that there simply wouldn't be enough of the fuel if more than a few municipalities in Canada decided to try biodiesel on their bus fleets. Local supply of ethanol also appears strained. Suncor, which says it needs 200 million litres of ethanol a year for its Canadian operations, has reportedly struck a deal with ethanol suppliers in Brazil, claiming there is a dearth of supply in the Great White North. But Canadian suppliers are beginning to ramp up. Suncor, aided by $22 million in funding from Ottawa, is in the process of building its own ethanol plant in Sarnia that would produce 208 million litres of ethanol each year. Commercial Alcohols in Toronto is prepared to double the size of its 150 million litre plant in Chatham. Ottawa-based Iogen, which produces "cellulose" ethanol using crop waste, has plans to build a 200 million litre plant out west, and possibly another in southwestern Ontario when its production costs fall. Today, it produces less than 1 million litres for demonstration purposes. "You can think of an ethanol plant as a replacement for refineries, and nobody is building new refineries in Ontario," says Jeff Passmore, executive vice-president of Iogen. Iogen can lower ethanol production costs because it uses waste material and has a process that helps offset energy costs. A byproduct of its cellulose processing is a material called lignen, which is burned by the company to supply electricity for its plant. There's action on the biodiesel front as well. Rothsay, a division of Maple Leaf Foods Group, has a 4 million litre facility that produces biodiesel from its animal rendering business and waste cooking oils. This month it begins construction on a 35 million litre plant that is expected to double in size after its first year of operation. There are also plans to build another plant, possibly in Ontario. Rothsay's costs are kept lower because the company is already in the rendering business and is using existing waste materials in its process. Oakville-based Biox Corp., meanwhile, has developed a way to produce biodiesel more affordably from vegetable-based oils. The company is planning to build a 60 million litre demonstration plant in Hamilton ÷ expandable in a year to 150 million litres ÷ creating 300 jobs and showcasing a patented technology that it hopes to sell to biodiesel producers around the world. "Biodiesel is huge in Europe and we're going to be getting into that market very quickly," says Tim Haig, president and CEO of Biox. Another factor helping to balance supply and demand will be the limitation of vehicles. Because biodiesel is a mild solvent, high concentrations can be damaging to some engine parts and will nullify vehicle warranties. And, as mentioned, concentrations above 20 per cent get gummy in the cold, causing further damage. To make for a smoother transition to this fuel, it may be best to keep blends in the 5 to 20 per cent range, keeping demand at a manageable level. Likewise, cars can't safely use gas containing much more than a 10 per cent blend of ethanol because it puts too much pressure on engine parts. Some car manufacturers, such as Ford and General Motors, have a limited selection of "flexible fuel vehicles," allowing for a blend of 85 per cent ethanol. But the market for FFVs is small, and while slowly growing, low-level blends of ethanol will suffice ÷ again, keeping demand in check. The point, say proponents, is that something can be done today to help reduce vehicle emissions and stimulate local industry, two things that sit well in the minds of consumers. "The consumer is going to drive the government to do things about clean air, and it's already doing that," says Haig. "We're lucky we had a cool summer and fewer smog days this year." When consumers feel the heat, he added, so too do the politicians. _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/biofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/
