Barry Hertz occasionally catches a scent of fish and chips coming from under the hood of a Volkswagen Beetle he drives.
The Volkswagen, used in research at the University of Saskatchewan, is fueled by diesel.
But the smell offers a hint the engine is burning diesel blended with a canola oil derivative.
Researchers have learned that blending canola oil derivatives with diesel fuel can reduce engine wear while improving fuel economy.
And they hope the research will one day spur a new demand for canola grown in Canada.
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“It makes sense,” said Hertz, a professor with the university’s mechanical engineering department.
“The stuff is grown here and could be processed here and then shipped out.”
Hertz led the research, which included looking into canola oil derivatives, as well as canola methyl ester.
Biodiesel is a fuel made from plant oil or animal fat. Biodiesel refined from rapeseed oil already is used in Europe, where tax discounts offer an incentive for motorists to use it.
Canada does not have such a subsidization plan, so all-canola biodiesel is too costly for the market.
However, Hertz’s research found that even in small amounts – as little as 1,000 parts per million – canola-based additives in diesel fuel can curb engine wear and enhance fuel efficiency. Engine wear reductions have ranged as high as 50 percent, Hertz said.
At such small amounts, the canola product becomes economic.
The research was done over five years using six vehicles.
The findings could help fill a void left by the removal of sulfur from diesel fuels.
Sulfur is removed from diesel because of concerns over exhaust emissions, but the hydrotreating process used to curb sulfur results in a less oily fuel.
Refiners are using a variety of lubricating additives to offset that problem. Hertz and his colleagues found that in many instances the resulting lubricity is less than desirable.
The Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission helped fund some of the research.
Commission executive director Roy Button is enthused about what has been learned.
About 40 billion litres of diesel are used in Canada each year, Button said.
If canola oil derivatives were blended with that fuel, the potential could be enormous.
“If all the diesel fuel in Canada included just 0.1 percent canola-based additive, this would be a new market for 250,000 acres of canola.”
The research results will be presented to major fuel companies in Canada in the coming months with the hope of stirring interest in canola-based diesel fuel additives.
Proponents say fuel additives and canola oil-based biodiesel offers environmental benefits: they are biodegradable; are derived from a renewable resource; and help reduce exhaust emissions.
That could fit well with Canada’s obligations under the Kyoto Agreement to reduce carbon emissions.
Button said his team will bring its findings to the attention of the federal government.
Hertz said the U of S team also tested other oilseed crops such as flax, soybean, sunflowers and rapeseed.
Canola oil derivatives led the way in reducing engine wear and were most economical when used in the production of methyl ester. Canola methyl ester is made by adding methanol or ethanol to canola oil with lye as the catalyst.
The chemical reaction separates the glycerol, a syrupy byproduct, from the vegetable oil. The resulting biodiesel remains at the top of the container.
The Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission said there are several markets for glycerol, with the pharmaceutical industry being one of the more lucrative.
