http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14819/story.htm Planet Ark : FEATURE - Biodiesel fans tout solution to pollution
UK: March 4, 2002 LONDON - Manchester window cleaner Martin Steele saw something eight years ago that changed his life. Scrubbing the panes of high-rise apartments, he noticed cans of used frying oil piled in a restaurant yard. The sight left Steele wondering if anything useful could be done with grease destined for landfills. It was his first step into the weird and wonderful world of biodiesel - fuel produced from vegetable and animal oils or recycled grease. Today, 42-year-old Steele is one of Britain's growing brigade of biodiesel fans. His red Volvo, a familiar sight in Manchester, runs on fuel brewed in his garden from oil he obtains from local kebab and fish-and-chip shops. "The beauty is that organic-origin oil has as much specific energy as oil of mineral origin and there is enough renewable energy for our needs," said Steele, who whips up 250-litre (66-gallon) batches of diesel with an apparatus he perfected over the years. Advocates say biodiesel is the solution to fuel shortages, pollution, global warming and farming problems. They say the sector is poised to grow into a multi-billion dollar industry over the next five years. To make biodiesel, fats and oils are mixed with alcohol in a chemical reaction that produces compounds called fatty acid methyl esters. These are known as biodiesel when used as fuel. GEARING UP In Cheshire, just south of Manchester, scientist Stephen Whittaker is gearing up to launch Britain's first large biodiesel plant with a capacity of 250,000 litres a week. Using Whittaker's own formula, his firm Ebony Solutions is producing 20,000 litres a week of a clean fuel called e-diesel, from used oil supplied by Asian food firm Sharwoods. From June, Whittaker's e-diesel will be sold at some petrol stations with plans for it to be sold at 500 outlets within a year. "I don't see biodiesel entirely replacing petrodiesel, but I do predict all UK and European diesel ultimately containing a proportion of biodiesel," Whittaker said, adding that most biodiesel blends did not require vehicle engine modifications. But despite its benefits and some headway in Germany and France, biodiesel still accounts for only a tiny percentage of European diesel consumption. Britain, with almost no commercial biodiesel production, lags the rest of Europe. MANY BENEFITS Biodiesel, according to the British Association of Biofuels and Oils (BABFO), is the solution to many of the world's ills and could give Britain up to 10 percent of its motor fuel needs. The organisation says substituting a tonne of biodiesel for fossil diesel saves three tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent. "It is safely biodegradable, far better on greenhouse gas emissions than fossil fuels, offers scope for recycling waste oils, recycles carbon on combustion and produces less local air pollutants than fossil diesel," BABFO chairman Peter Clery said. "E-diesel has a greater calorific value compared to petro diesel," adds Ebony Solutions' Whittaker. "It also burns more cleanly hence more power is produced and less engine heat. It may also help clean up landfills as more corporations get into the act. Supermarket chain ASDA is set to transform the 138,000 litres of chicken waste and cooking fat from its rotisseries into diesel for its delivery lorries. "The UK produces 50-90 million litres of waste cooking oil a year and it seems like an awful waste of resource to just send it away to landfills or pour it down the sink," ASDA's Environment Manager Ian Bowles told Reuters. Biodiesel in Europe is a $500 million industry today and consultancy Frost and Sullivan predicts it will grow to $2.4 billion with annual sales of 4.5 million tonnes by 2007. The European Commission in 2001 directed that biodiesel make up 3.5 percent of the diesel fuel transport market by 2007. Analysts say lack of tax incentives has hobbled the British biodiesel industry. In Germany where biodiesel enjoys zero duty rates, 600,000 tonnes of the fuel are produced every year, while France produces 275,000 tonnes. In contrast, almost none is produced commercially in Britain and though taxes will be cut to 26 pence per litre from April this year, analysts say rates need to be brought down at least to the 4.5 percent level paid by other renewable fuels. "In Britain, biodiesel is still just viewed as some kind of backyard process," Frost and Sullivan analyst Gordon McManus said. BOOST TO AGRICULTURE BABFO's Clery says tax incentives could allow Britain to produce up to 3.5 million tonnes of biofuels by 2010 by ensuring waste fat is collected for fuel and, more importantly, by expanding output from oilseeds as is becoming common in Europe. He said there is potential for Britain to set aside 500,000 hectares for biodiesel crops over the next five years. Yields are between 1.25 to two tonnes of oil per hectare. "This will give farmers some control over feedstock and 10 percent of our fuel coming from our farms will allow us to diversify our energy supply sources," Clery said. Though oil firms have yet to invest seriously in biodiesel, many, especially in Scandinavia and Germany, already distribute biodiesel blends through their petrol station networks. Biodiesel may not be the perfect solution to the world's energy problems. Its opponents say the fuel is prone to freeze and vehicles incur more starting problems in cold weather. They say it could make for petrol price rises if blending is made mandatory and, unlike mineral diesel, biodiesel must be used within one year of manufacture. The biggest hurdle is that biodiesel cannot compete at all yet without state fiscal support. "If we are talking in terms of millions of tonnes, it will mean a fair amount of investment from governments," McManus said. "It would mean substantial amounts of lost tax revenues." But analysts agree it is a matter of time before biodiesel-spiked fuel is sold at petrol stations everywhere as political will grows and more fuel is commercially produced from oilseeds. "There are no technological barriers to biodiesel use. It is a fuel for today and the near future, before the time that technology such as fuel cells becomes viable," McManus said. Story by Sujata Rao REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ------------------------ Yahoo! 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