On the Road to Marketing
Friendlier Fuel

By Lisa Caines
SPARK Program

Recycled restaurant grease that doubles as organic engine fuel isn't at the pumps just yet, but the drive toward putting this kind of biodiesel on the Canadian market has stakeholders revved up in anticipation.

Kemptville College professors Dean Donaldson, a specialist in rural economic development, and Allen Hills, an engineer, are on a mission to investigate the feasibility of making biodiesel a household word in Canada within the next few years. They're discussing marketing strategies with the various stakeholders involved to form a common goal of incorporating blends of biodiesel with regular diesel fuel, to lessen the harmful effects of diesel on the environment.

"So far, we've seen a lot of positive acceptance," says Donaldson. "Consumers are very supportive of the concept of using a renewable source."

And with recent reports that Toronto Hydro plans to fuel its entire fleet of vehicles with a biodiesel blend this year, it appears that support exists to take biodiesel to the next level: marketing.

Biodiesel - a clean-burning fuel that is organically produced from renewable resources such as recycled restaurant fat and soybean or vegetable oils - is thought to be one answer to environmental problems. But it has only recently surfaced in Ontario as a realistic alternative to diesel fuel.

Donaldson's research focuses on working with stakeholders to identify the barriers to marketing the fuel and examining the potential choices that will fuel a commitment to manufacturing and selling the biodegradable, non-toxic fuel.

Although pure biodiesel can be used in regular diesel engines, Donaldson says it can't wholly replace diesel fuel just yet because of its limited production and supply. He and Hills are looking at the feasibility of scenarios involving blended fuels - containing biodiesel in quantities from two to 20 per cent - which still offer significant environmental benefits and acceptable engine performance, even in colder climates.

Donaldson says success at marketing a blended fuel containing just two-per-cent biodiesel would require a 25-per-cent increase in soybean production. That's more than 600,000 acres.

And a major obstacle in marketing biodiesel is finding someone to distribute it, he says. Convincing the petroleum industry to market a competing product isn't an easy task, especially without government enforcement and with so little concrete information widely available.

Although U.S. research boasts that the renewable resource benefits the environment by reducing air pollution and greenhouse gases - and it's been proven safe on engines - Canadian investors would like to see researchers do more testing in their own climate before they make any commitments.

For now, Donaldson and Hills are doing their best to bring the ideas and expertise of various stakeholders together. They will focus on arranging meetings with farm groups, potential investors and officials in Ottawa to continue to identify the barriers and solutions that will lead to developing a plan that will put biodiesel to more widespread use.

"There are a lot of people who are making a commitment to a cleaner environment, and biodiesel's a great way to make that happen," says Hills. "Interest in biodiesel in Ontario has really recurred just recently. It's gone from 'nobody was interested' to 'nobody can keep up.'"

This research has been sponsored by the Ontario Soybean Growers, the University's Hannam Soybean Utilization Fund and the directors' funding program at Kemptville College.