Students need biodiesel volunteers

Students need biodiesel volunteers
Rocky Mountain Outlook - Bow Valley,Alberta,Canada
Banff Community High School students are looking for local companies willing to test pilot the efficiency of biodiesel fuel in the Bow Valley this summer. ...

 Banff Community High School students are looking for local companies willing to test pilot the efficiency of biodiesel fuel in the Bow Valley this summer.

Already both The Banff Centre and Banff Springs Golf Course are piloting tests with their bobcats and other outdoor equipment, but four more test vehicles would enable the students for expand their two-year-old research project and apply for grants that would help take it to the next level.

“Our goal is to extend the use of biodiesel throughout the town and make a positive contribution to clean air,” said BCHS student Yuta Seki. “The goal is to have six organizations using at least one vehicle with biodiesel.”

Last year BCHS students physically manufactured biodiesel in the classroom and successfully tested it on equipment at the Fairmont Banff Springs Golf Course. This year, the project has continued, with students spending more time researching global use of biodiesel and trying to come up with ways to hurdle some of the obstacles to its use.

The Banff Centre joined forces with the students about a year and a half ago to see where that organization could fit into the project, and this year it, too, is piloting biodiesel fuel in several bobcats.

“We’ve been looking at The Banff Centre’s environmental performance for a number of years and were approached by the high school to see what kind of environmental partnership we could establish and perhaps facilitate some of the work the students are doing,” said Norbert Meier, the chief environmental officer for the Centre.

Students involved with the project, along with teacher-advisor Maya Capel, unveiled their most recent research and progress Thursday (May 18) at The Banff Centre. Joining them was John Rillet, representing Climate Change Central out of Calgary.

Among the challenges faced by any community trying to expand the use of biodiesel is the “chicken and egg” dilemma of supply and demand, Rillet said.

“A lot of the problem is ‘if you have it, I’ll buy it and if you buy it, I’ll make it.’ It’s very neat to come out here and see students that are interested in this — it’s great, because what’s really needed is this education outreach. We’re looking to create a sophisticated consumer of biodiesel, because there’s a lot of misinformation out there.”

Locally, Kyle White of the Rocky Mountain Biodiesel Company has been gearing up to supply the oil and equipment needed for the manufacture biodisel fuel, but a lack of demand has kept that project on hold.

Among the misinformation is that biodiesel doesn’t work in colder temperatures, but diesel engines require absolutely no modification to run on biodiesel, he said. Even equipment that stays outside in the coldest temperatures can be fittied with a fuel line preheater to prevent the biodiesel from becoming sludgy, he said.

In Europe, the use of biodisel is so widespread that most of the time, it’s not even identified at the pumps, he noted. European countries used 3.6 billion litres of low-level blended biodiesel, with between three and eight per cent vegetable oil or animal fat added to the diesel fuel.

“In some countries, more than 90 per cent of the fuel has a blend, a percentage of three to eight per cent.”

Mark Fuller, grounds supervisor at The Banff Centre who is operating the biodiesel-fuelled equipment, said he purchased his canola oil-based fuel through Milligan Biotech in Saskatoon. His research led him to start with a five-per-cent mix, but next year he may increase it to 20 per cent.

In Saskatoon, he noted, municipal buses are running on five per cent biodiesel year-round without problem.

BCHS student Jemilla Khan said the students are prepared to help any companies wanting to volunteer with the project in a variety of ways, including hooking them up with a supplier, supplying all of the research materials needed and helping with applications that may be available.