Saskatchewan agricultural producers put biodiesel to the test

By EduTransfer Design Associates and Haywire Creative

February 01, 2010

Photo by B. Barker, Haywire Creative

Any farmer who has tried to run summer diesel during a frigid Prairie winter knows the challenges of keeping his farm machinery fleet running, which is why winter diesel has conditioners to keep the fuel flowing on the coldest day. The same challenge is present with biodiesel, where cloud point and viscosity can be a challenge for winter operating conditions. 

Yet, as part of the federal government’s Renewable Fuels Strategy, diesel fuel and heating oil must contain an average annual 2 % renewable content by 2011 or earlier, subject to technical feasibility. Technical feasibility is key for the biodiesel mandate, which is where the Government of Canada’s National Renewable Diesel Demonstration Initiative (NRDDI) comes in. The NRDDI supports projects that demonstrate how renewable diesel fuel will perform under Canadian conditions. 

The Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) is leading a biodiesel pilot project to demonstrate how well the renewable fuel performs year-round in agriculture equipment. Supported with $782,000 from NRDDI, the project will help SRC assess biodiesel's quality retention and performance in farming equipment and bulk storage facilities in all seasons, including the coldest winter months.

"We are privileged to lead a biodiesel study that will benefit farmers in Saskatchewan and across Canada," says SRC President and CEO Dr. Laurier Schramm. "This study and our proven expertise in biofuels testing will provide practical insights to both agriculture producers and the Government of Canada as they explore biodiesel use on the farm."

During the year-long project, eight agriculture producers are operating their equipment using low level (B5) and high level (B10) canola-biodiesel blends to determine whether they affect engine performance. Five producers will operate their equipment year round using a B5 blend, while three others will use a B10 blend during warmer months and a B5 blend the rest of the year.

“The idea is that the farmers will use the biodiesel blend over the course of the year, as part of their normal operations,” explains SRC spokesperson Cameron Zimmer.  “Some of the equipment and fuel storage may sit over the winter, while some of the biodiesel will be used throughout the year.”

As part of the study, SRC will evaluate approximately 50 tractors, combines, swathers and related farm fuel storage tanks. Biodiesel quality will be closely monitored and evaluated to ensure that the fuel maintains adequate quality throughout the year round farming cycle. Fuel testing will be conducted at the SRC Biofuels Test Centre in Regina.

The biodiesel is produced by a Saskatchewan company and made from canola oil.

The NRDDI has funded similar demonstration projects in the past, and has several other projects underway:

• Imperial Oil Limited is testing cold flow performance of the finished renewable fuel and the stability of the fuel.
• FPInnovations is demonstrating and documenting the experience of using various blends of biodiesel (up to 10 %) by off-road heavy equipment used to construct and pave provincial public highways, to provide material handling in a sawmill, logging road construction, and the harvesting and processing of timber.

The study began in late 2009, and will be completed in November 2010.  Zimmer says the information gathered from the pilot project will give producers and other agriculture industry stakeholders the technical information they need to successfully blend, handle and store biodiesel blends in cold Canadian conditions.