Features
Veggie Gold: The biodiesel rush is on.
It wasn't long ago that concern for our habitat was considered the lonely province of patchouli-scented maidens and unkempt men in Birkenstocks. But thanks to the efforts of resolutely normal activists like Al Gore, climate change and sustainability have become the definitive political issues of the day. Corporations are scrambling to green their image, and sectors like alternative energy are poised to become highly profitable industries. Still, confusion abounds as to which solutions are the most effective in terms of reducing our ecological footprint and ensuring sustainable development. Scientific data on life-cycle emissions and carbon credits is disorienting at best, and proponents and detractors offer polar opposite facts on the same issues. The suits have moved in, but some cobwebs remain to be cleared away.
Take biodiesel for example: We've all heard stories of some eccentric inventor running an old VW van on french-fry oil distilled in a bathtub. Little did we know, that fringe curiosity is in fact a clean-burning, renewable fuel with massive potential to reduce the environmental impact of motorized transportation. Biodiesel is safe for use in normal, unmodified diesel engines, either in its pure form or blended with conventional petrodiesel. Use of 20% biodiesel (B20) results in a 20% decrease in unburned hydrocarbon emissions, while B100 or pure biodiesel provides a 67% reduction. All other categories of tailpipe nastiness are significantly lowered as well.
The bathtub story may have sounded outrageous a decade ago, homebrewed biodiesel is becoming increasingly popular amongst farmers and city slickers alike. The environmental benefits are undeniable, and the prospect of controlling your own means of fuel production is hard to resist. This certainly isn't a trade you can master in an afternoon, but educational videos are all over YouTube, and websites like journeytoforever.org provide step-by-step instructions for producing biodiesel in the comfort of your own home. With little more than a bottle of vegetable oil from the supermarket, some methanol-based antifreeze and a package of lye, anyone can mix their own batch of biodiesel and be ready for the road.
While I'm all for DIY and self-sufficiency, the homebrew craze has unintentionally earmarked biodiesel as a hobbyist fuel, rather than a robust energy source capable of meeting the needs of industry. For farmers who can grow their own oil-bearing crops, self-produced fuel makes good sense. Yet for an urban motorist or commercial fleet boss, self-reliance isn't so easy.
Commercial biodiesel production is a slightly more complicated undertaking. Oil-rich crops like soy, canola, palm and canola provide the "feedstock material", which is processed in a refinery and subjected to arcane-sounding procedures like transesterification. Most manufacturers produce the fuel according to the BQ-9000 program to ensure their biodiesel meets rigorous quality specifications. To the owner/operator of an 18-wheeler, this means guaranteed quality and peace of mind. To the Volkswagen driver, however, credentials are an unnecessary production cost, and the bathtub doesn't charge.
If biodiesel is to have a measurable impact as a green fuel, economies of scale must develop to allow for widespread production and availability. Supply chains must be solidified, linking farmers, refiners and distributors with the end users. But before that can happen, public perception has to change. Currently, most Canadians see biodiesel as little more than a curiosity.
Biodiesel Basics
Dennis Rogoza, director of the BC Biofleet program, sees education as the first step towards a viable Canadian biodiesel industry. Biofleet works to dispel the shroud of mystery and misinformation surrounding the fuel. "[We're] really about sharing information and becoming a resource centre for those fleets that want to know more about biodiesel and how it's used in different applications," Rogoza explains. Those range from mining and fish farming to shipping and transportation, but Canadian companies have yet to really catch on. In hopes of spreading the word, BC Biofleet offers one-on-one consultations with fleet managers and industry bosses, and holds public workshops. Rogoza definitely sees interest picking up, but changing entrenched reliance on fossil fuels is slow going.
Although biodiesel may not be on the tip of everyone's tongue here in Canada, it's a different story across the Atlantic. "Biodiesel started as a very small enterprise in Europe over 15 years ago. Somebody built the first plant and now we have biodiesel spread across Europe on a big scale," says Rogoza. He cites 1900 retail stations in Germany that currently offer biodiesel at the pump, a number that roughly translates to one in ten of the country's fuel stations. France and other EU nations are also rapidly expanding their biodiesel infrastructure, and car manufacturers are evolving to meet the increasing demand. According to the Pacific News Service, diesel cars now account for 70% of the vehicles sold in France and 68% in Spain. Compared to diesel's paltry 2% share in Canada, it's no surprise that biodiesel is so much bigger in Europe.
This gap in adoption rates could easily be attributed to a North American reluctance to accept the savvy of Europeans, but it's not just Europe. Though on a smaller scale, the United States also has a burgeoning biodiesel industry, especially in the more agricultural states. Both Minnesota and Washington State have legislated that all diesel sold within their borders must contain at least two percent biodiesel (B2). The city of Portland has taken it even further, with a recent municipal law requiring a minimum B10 blend. Even Willie Nelson is doing his part with his line of premium biodiesel, "BioWillie". In a PBS interview, Nelson admits that when his wife first told him about a Jetta runnig on used cooking oil, he was a little incredulous. "I really thought she was a little off there," he chuckles. "I thought she'd been in my stash a little bit." Since then, the country music legend has come around, and BioWillie has pumps in seven states.
The Long Road to Canada
To Curtis Mearns of Cascadia Biofuels, it was the success of the fuel south of the border that spurred the initial drive here in BC. "I got involved in biodiesel when I was doing some work in the US," Mearns explains. "When I came back to Canada I went over to the GVRD and said, 'Is anyone doing anything on this biodiesel stuff?'"
Intrigued, the GVRD introduced Mearns to the municipal fleet managers in and around the Lower Mainland, which led to an agreement in 2005 that saw Vancouver, Richmond, Whistler, Delta, Burnaby and North Vancouver adopt blends ranging from B5 to B20 in their engineering, parks board and other on-road vehicles. As Rogoza explains, "the ones who really kick-started the marketplace here in BC were the municipal fleets."
For companies interested in making the switch to renewable fuels, the trailblazing efforts of the municipalities are reassuring. Continuing to use regular diesel is the path of least resistance, and the government is going to have to lead the fight against inertia if it expects private industry to follow suit.
The BC government appears poised to take its leadership role up a notch. The recently unveiled provincial Energy Plan mandates a five percent average use of biodiesel by 2010, surpassing a federal target of two percent by 2012. While this may sound like a good start, Mearns explains that the target is misleading. The key lies in the use of the word 'average', which sits innocuously in the midst of the declaration. Rather than spurring change with a minimum of B5, the average allows most companies to carry on using regular diesel, as long as a few are doing their part. Under the average, a single large marine biodiesel user like BC Ferries could make up the entire five percent of the province's total use.
"If it's a B5 minimum...then guys like us are going to have to put in the infrastructure to make it work," Mearns explains. "If that minimum was in place we'd have to have all the stations there."
Driven to Co-Operate
Just as the rise of organic food was driven by voracious consumer appetite, biodiesel will expand if people demand it. Rather than wait for government approval, drivers need to take their diesel vehicles straight to the pump to fuel up on biodiesel. Such immediate action is a fine plan for residents of Delta or Burnaby with easy access to local bio-pumps, but Vancouverites will quickly discover that the city is dry. That's exactly what Louise Schwarz and Robert Weatherbe of Vancouver-based company Recycling Alternative realized back in 2004 when they first went looking for biodiesel. Eager to reduce the emissions from their fleet of recycling trucks but confronted with a lack of supply, the pair partnered with Robb Miller of Ecofuels Canada to create the Vancouver Biodiesel Co-Op.
"Myself and my business partner Robert Weatherbe, we run our own recycling business, and we've been doing that for 15 years in the city," explains Schwarz. "We were the first people to join the Co-Op, and we've been running our fleet on biodiesel for the last three years. We provided a location and a place where the Co-Op members could centralize." That location is 360 Industrial Avenue, the headquarters of the Recycling Alternative and the only place in Vancouver proper where biodiesel is available fo sale. For a registration fee of $100, Co-Op members are given access to a fuel tote on site which stocks B100 year round. Since the Co-Op is not a licensed purveyor of diesel, biodiesel is only offered in its pure, unblended form-and that's exactly how they like it.
"The interest of Co-Op members generally is to look at high blends. They're not doing a conservative B5 or B20 like what you see in the commercial sector," says Schwarz. "Individuals who have joined the Co-Op are people who are very interested in decreasing their ecoprint. They're looking at upwards of 50%, and they are blending it themselves, they will splash blend into their own tanks." While individual blending requires a greater degree of know-how, it also means that the Co-Op can keep its operations simple and effective. Selling pre-blended biodiesel would require the Co-Op to register as a fuel distributor, and grapple with all the attendant safety and toxicity issues.
With a full roster of 100 people, the Vancouver Biodiesel Co-Op is not accepting new members as of this writing. Their existing infrastructure is stretched to the limit, and new facilities will have to be developed before more members can join up. As Schwarz explains, the large volume of calls and inquiries she receives on a regular basis has played a significant role in driving expansion. More and more people are interested in switching to diesel engines, and biodiesel is driving the shift. At the Co-Op's upcoming AGM shortly after Earth Day, Co-Op members will decide exactly how they would like their organization to evolve.
Coming Clean
While gaining government support and expanding infrastructure are both key elements of promoting biodiesel use, sustained public debate on the subject is equally important. Those involved in the biodiesel industry understandably focus on the fuel's merits, but it is essential to assess criticisms and potential drawbacks. Biodiesel is not cold fusion. It is not a miracle new energy source that will allow us to continue on our starry path of unbridled consumption. Like all other forms of energy, it has conditions and consequences.
First, there is the issue of blend use. Biodiesel has a high "cloud point", which means that it will begin to gel at higher temperatures than conventional diesel. B100 is fine in the warm days of summer, but it can cause engines to seize up as the days get colder. Additives are available to lower the cloud point, but the most obvious solution is to use lower blends in cold weather. Curtis Mearns recommends the use of seasonal blends to his customers. He sells B20 during the winter months, and switches to B40 for the summer. Installing heated fuel lines in your vehcle is another option, but that would spoil the claim that biodiesel runs on regular engines without any expensive modifications.
Second, many critics have cited the vast amount of land required to grow sufficient feedstock crops for widespread biodiesel use. There are growing concerns that as biodiesel production becomes more lucrative, land that was once used for food will be converted to oil-bearing cash crops. According to Dennis Rogoza, conversion of premium land from food to fuel production is not the problem critics make it out to be. "There's lots of marginal land available to produce oil-based crops for renewable fuels,"he says. Such land is currently not being used for agricultural purposes, and is capable of supporting the growth of feedstock crops like canola. Additionally, Rogoza believes that new varieties of existing crops and as-yet untapped source materials have the potential to provide a higher oil yield with less land use.
"There's a whole second generation of feedstocks that are going to come to the table and be made available that have a much higher oil content," Rogoza says. "The economics are very strong for the farmers, and it won't effect the food supply at all."
In countries like Brazil, Malaysia and Indonesia, deforestation is an ongoing issue. Palm is the most efficient and profitable source for biodiesel in warmer climates, and vast tracts of rainforest are being cleared to make room for commercial palm farms. Organizations like Friends of the Earth International decry the irony that the industrialized countries' thirst for renewable fuels is actually speeding up the rate of deforestation in crucial rainforest areas. This cannot be easily dismissed. Rogoza dmits that there is no obvious solution, but claims a large effort is underway to install sustainability criteria for palm-oil production.
What's Next
One of the great fallacies held by critics of renewable fuels is the assumption that a single fuel source will come to replace oil. Dependence on a single source of energy is what sparked the present crisis in the first place, and searching for a single replacement is a doomed project. In the energy industry as in healthy ecosystems, diversity allows for flexible responses to fuel or food shortages. Any viable solutions to our reliance on oil will incorporate the prospect of diversity. Biodiesel is a pomising fuel, but it will be most effective when developed alongside ethanol, solar power and in concert with other emerging technologies.
That being said, it is important that we act now using the existing solutions we have at our disposal. There's been a great deal of commotion over the development of the "Hydrogen Highway" between Vancouver and Whistler, a project sponsored by both the provincial and federal governments. Said to be completed in time for the 2010 Olympics, the project is described on the Hydrogen Highway website as "a showcase for hydrogen and fuel cell technology development," as well as "a metaphor for our route to th future." In other words, the 1.1 million-dollar undertaking will have no tangible benefits in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Considering that biodiesel is a fuel being successfully used by fleets all over the world, the time for metaphorical solutions has come and gone. Mearns is weary of government greenwashing, and longs to see realistic action on alternative fuels. "What happens if we make it mandatory for everyone to do a B5? Well that's kinda cool, but if we actually went to B10-that means everybody-we'd be compliant with Kyoto. It would reduce our footprint or emissions profile right across the country overnight," he sys. I like the sounds of that. What was the name of that highway again?