The last month has been as expected;, the worst of the winter is over which means that we have got all the way through without any drama. Over the past month, we have changed our heating system for the B100 biodiesel and are now using emersion heaters sourced from Argus Heating.

Shell continues to provide fantastic support to the trial, as does Biodiesel Oils Ltd, our supplier. Mobil has also had a meeting with a view to possibly doing something in terms of a wider scale trial with Christchurch Bus Services. If we can get another fleet trial underway, we will then be only one step away from having our fleet powered by biodiesel which is pretty exciting.

For further information in relation to biodiesel or the biodiesel trial, please contact:

David Stenhouse
Ph 366 88 55
Email david.stenhouse@ecan.govt.nz

Everything continued to run smoothly with our trial over the past month.

The government’s sales obligation start date continues to get closer and there are still concerns being expressed in relation to sustainability. The public awareness of our trial in Christchurch has been fantastic and word seems to be filtering through to all sorts of places. In terms of biodiesel supply, we have had some approaches from some pretty far-reaching places globally, including - to name a few - Ukraine, Northern China, Philippines, The Congo and Ghana. This is in addition to closer countries, such as Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The level of interest is huge, but it does mean that there has to be some serious thought given as to the wider sustainability of imports and whether they will lead to the displacement of native forests or local food supply.

We are fortunate in that we use tallow which is a byproduct of the meat industry. The tallow is sourced locally and so it is a good sound sustainable option.

There have recently been some concerns expressed to me about the ethical nature of using tallow and I had these myself initially as well as I’m a vegetarian. The only way that I have found to reduce these concerns is to consider that the tallow is there regardless and is a commodity already. If the animals were being killed expressly for the purpose of biodiesel production, then my take would be substantially different.

For further information in relation to biodiesel or the biodiesel trial, please contact:

David Stenhouse
Ph 366 88 55
Email david.stenhouse@ecan.govt.nz

The biodiesel trial continues to be a resounding success. The coldest days experienced to date are -7 and -8°C as measured at the Leopard Coachlines depot. Both B20 buses continue to operate with no issue on these days. The fleet trial is continuing successfully without any issue.

For further information in relation to biodiesel or the biodiesel trial, please contact:

David Stenhouse
Ph 366 88 55
Email david.stenhouse@ecan.govt.nz

It’s been a big month for biodiesel!

The buses in the biodiesel trial continue to circulate on their respective routes with no problems which is fantastic. There have been no gelling issues with the tallow-based biodiesel at all, in line with expectation.

Our trial was featured on a TVNZ documentary called No, 8 Diesel on TV1 February 17th. The documentary provided an excellent insight into biodiesel production and use in NZ, and included the likes of Peter Bethune’s Earthrace boat which is a remarkable achievement even without the biodiesel which is powering it all around the world. Nick Gerritson of Aquaflow in Marlborough was also featured and he gave a good run down on biodiesel production using algae.

Other news from the past month is the NZ government’s sales obligation for biofuels has been announced and will become legislation. The sales obligation will mean biodiesel at the petrol station pump from 2008, and potentially bioethanol as well.

While the overall objective of the sales obligation is a good one, there are a couple of points of concern.

It seems that the blend level will not have to be identified at the bowser unless it is higher than 5%. This means a fuel company may blend 1% of biodiesel with 99% of fossil diesel and the consumer won’t know any different, and of course the environmental benefit will be negligible.

Perhaps the biggest concern though is, that there is no mandatory level of local production which means that either the biodiesel or bioethanol, or both, can be imported from anywhere in the world. Already there is strong indication that Palm Oil based biodiesel from the Philippines, or Malaysia, can be imported cheaply and perhaps be sold more cheaply than the local product. This is not terribly sustainable and, although the WTO would be an obstacle, perhaps the government would be well placed to consider setting up some sort of green taskforce to cast an independent eye over legislation such as this to ensure we are not disaffecting other parts of the globe through our push to be clean and green. After all, there is enormous potential for biodiesel and bioethanol demand globally to lead to destruction of native forests, and to take over land traditionally used for food crops in poorer nations. Apparently this impact on the rest of the world will be reviewed in 2010, which seems a bit late.

The final concern is that increased local demand for tallow due to the sales obligation will force the price of tallow to rise. This makes importing the likes of Palm Oil based biodiesel even more cost-competitive for the fuel companies.

And. of course. the whole question around the energy use to import vs that of a locally-produced product is another matter altogether.

The last, and best, news of the month is that Leopard Coachlines have committed to using a B20 biodiesel blend (20% biodiesel, 80% fossil diesel) from March 2007. The B20 trial will include both Leopard buses and begin in the second week of March. Both Leopard Coachlines and Christchurch Bus Services have also indicated a strong interest in running their entire fleets on B5 biodiesel so watch this space…

For further information in relation to biodiesel or the biodiesel trial, please contact:

David Stenhouse
Ph 366 88 55
Email david.stenhouse@ecan.govt.nz

The biodiesel trial transitioned to the use of tallow based biodiesel in late November 2006. The blend quantity is still B5(5%) and no problems were experienced during the Christmas period. Emissions data are still being gathered and, to date, there is no difference in the emissions between the used cooking-oil blend and the tallow blend.

Visually both neat (100%) biodiesel samples are very different to look at, which has surprised a lot of people including the bus operators. Used cooking-oil based biodiesel is a very gold colour while tallow based biodiesel is a greenish brown.

We have heated tanks in place at Petro-Tec to prevent the neat tallow based biodiesel from solidifying and will continue to monitor its use closely. Petro-Tec continues to do a tremendous job of storing, distributing and blending the biodiesel.

For further information in relation to biodiesel or the biodiesel trial, please contact:

David Stenhouse
Ph 366 88 55
Email david.stenhouse@ecan.govt.nz

We're now 2 months into the biodiesel trial and everything is going extremely well!

Public feedback is still overwhelmingly positive and we have now completed our first emissions and engine oil testing.

Results from the emissions testing are encouraging with good decreases in line with overseas data for both Particle Matter (Opacity) and Carbon Monoxide. There was no appreciable reduction in Carbon Dioxide and Nitrous Oxide emissions results have so far proved inconclusive.

The results are based on a direct comparison between emissions from the buses running on fossil diesel prior to the trial as compared to the same buses now using biodiesel in the trial. We are also comparing the results of another 2 buses from each operator powered solely by fossil diesel as a benchmark.

Engine oil sampling has been carried out and analysis by Goughs has shown no issues in relation to abnormal engine wear.

A new Northern Star service has just begun to the Waimakariri District and one biodiesel bus is now being used on this service during some parts of the day. This is providing useful feedback on open road running. The other 3 buses are still being used exclusively on either the Redwood/ Hoon Hay route, the Ilam/ Mt Pleasant route or the Hyde Park/ Bromley route.

To date, feedback from drivers is all positive. Some drivers feel that the engine noise is quieter and have also had passenger comment to that effect. This may be to do with the lubricity of the fuel or maybe due to be the fact that the biodiesel buses used on those routes are brand new. All drivers asked for feedback have said that there is no noticeable difference in power, or acceleration. Some said they have noticed a different smell from the exhaust!

Neither bus company has noticed any difference in fuel economy.

The next step in the trial is the move to tallow based biodiesel. This will take place before the end of November for both operators. The B100 (100%) tallow based biodiesel has proven relatively easy to store. We have installed heat pads under the storage tanks to maintain a constant temperature of 25°C and this has been the only difference to the storing of used cooking-oil based biodiesel at B100. The intention is to use the B5 (5%) blend of tallow based biodiesel until after Christmas, when we expect to increase the blend to B20 (20%).

Since the trial began, we at Environment Canterbury have been getting good use from the Biodiesel buses and they are being used extensively as part of the Sustainable Transport Education Programme. They are visiting schools, environmental centre open days and will be visiting sustainability expos, all in the name of creating awareness that different sustainable transport options do indeed exist and that there are sustainable fuel options such as biodiesel out there which can reduce emissions and reduce our dependency on fossil fuels without any need for expensive engine modifications.

For further information in relation to biodiesel or the biodiesel trial, please contact:

David Stenhouse
Ph 366 88 55
Email david.stenhouse@ecan.govt.nz

To date, there have been no issues whatsoever with the use of the biodiesel which is fantastic, but expected nonetheless.

The first stage of our trial was to use used cooking-oil as the base product for the biodiesel. The second stage of the trial is to transition to using tallow for the base product. The first batch of tallow based biodiesel has now been ordered and the transition will take place on schedule in early November. Aside from some additional storage requirements such as heating, the transition should be a relatively easy one.

The first emissions testing will take place this week and the results will be compared with the pre-trial test results of the trial buses as well as those of the benchmark sister buses. Results will be published on the web over the next month.

Oil samples will also be sent off for testing this week. These will also be compared against the pre-trial test results and benchmark sister buses.

Public feedback on the biodiesel and the Sustainable Transport Bus livery has been terrific so far, and many people who are now aware that biodiesel is being trialled are ringing to find out where they can source the fuel. Unfortunately, NZ Standard Biodiesel is still not publicly available, but the results from our trial will no doubt continue to help give businesses and the public even more confidence that biodiesel is a great alternative when it is offered as an option at fuel pumps in Canterbury.

For further information in relation to biodiesel or the biodiesel trial, please contact:

David Stenhouse
Ph 366 88 55
Email david.stenhouse@ecan.govt.nz