By Tyler Kula www.theobserver.ca The Observer
A recent study undertaken at Imperial Oil in Sarnia has yielded new insight into the use and storage of heating and transportation fuel containing biodiesel. The study was jointly funded by Imperial, the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute (CPPI) and the Canadian government’s National Renewable Diesel Demonstration Initiative. It found that up to 10% biodiesel in heating oil shouldn’t cause furnace performance issues, limiting saturated monoglycerides can help avoid filter plugging, especially in cold weather, and antioxidants can help product stability in long term storage.
“All of that information is intended eventually to advance the understanding and to make sure that, as this product is introduced into the Canadian marketplace, the consumer will be well protected,” said Gilles Morel, director of fuel for CPPI.
The results — detailed reports of which can be found at www.cppi.ca — have drawn attention from the Canada General Standards Board and its U.S. counterpart, he said. “The main intent of that work was to try to better understand the mechanism or to understand some of the known potential issues with biofuel,” he said. Heating oil with biodiesel is already used in Europe and some parts of the U.S., Morel said, but testing was needed to ensure it was suitable for Canadian climates.
There were 57 different diesel blends tested at the Imperial research facility, with $202,000 coming from the federal government.
The Canadian Oil Heating Association, Canadian Trucking Alliance, Canadian Renewable Fuels Association and several industry players also provided assistance in the study.