Primer on Bioproducts - BIOCAP Canada

environmentally attractive than current technologies. Many of thetechnologies needed to manufacture cellulose-based ethanol on acommercially viable scale are still in development. IogenCorporation of Ottawa has become a world leader in thedevelopment of this technology.Meanwhile, fatty acids or oils from renewable plant and animalsources can be converted into a clean-burning fuel known asbiodiesel. These organic oils — from seeds, corn, canola, animalfat, and even “used” fast-food-fryer vegetable oil — can beseparated to isolate the combustible compounds that make up thefuel. According to the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association,biodiesel, as a blend or by itself, can be used in conventionaldiesel engines to significantly reduce some pollution emissions.Producing the fuel does not generate any net CO 2emissions, andthe fuel itself is considered to be biodegradable.Gas from Municipal and Farm WasteBiogas — a mixture of methane and CO 2— is a renewable fuelthat can be produced from organic waste. Biogas is made bybacteria that degrade biological material in the absence of oxygenin a process known as anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestioncan result in the creation of gas from organic material. It usuallyoccurs naturally in marshes, rubbish dumps, septic tanks and thedigestive systems of ruminants, such as cattle and sheep.The disposal of farm manure and municipal solid waste presentsserious environmental problems and expense for rural and urbancommunities. Instead of being disposed, these wastes can be usedin the production of biogas. Anaerobic digestion processes havebeen applied to poultry and cattle manure, hog farm effluent andfood processing waste. Biogas from a number of landfill sites inCanada is now used to drive gas turbines for power generation.Fuelled by BiodieselCosts are still a significant barrierto large-scale commercialproduction and use of biodiesel.Estimates by the US Department ofEnergy suggest that biodiesel costsfrom US$1.95 to US$3 per gallon(depending on the feedstock andthe supplier), compared to thecurrent price of regular diesel ofabout US$1.50. Diesel blendsusing 20 per cent biodiesel areexpected to cost US$0.30 toUS$0.40 more per gallon thandiesel, the department says. Animportant factor here is theequalization of incentives andenabling policies for biobasedproducts — starting with energy —that put biomass on a level playingfield with fossil fuels, which are stillsubsidized and not heldaccountable for all of theenvironmental costs they create.According to the American BiodieselAssociation, despite the higher cost,biodiesel users in the United Statesalready include the US PostalService and the US Departments ofEnergy and Agriculture, as well asalmost 100 other public and privatefleets in the country.The use of biodiesel in Canada isproblematic in the winter months. Incold weather biodiesel thickens morequickly than conventional diesel.For the time being, biodiesel can bePRIMER ON BIOPRODUCTS29