RENEWABLE OIL FUELS AND DIESEL ENGINES AS COMPONENTS OF SUSTAINABLE SYSTEM DESIGN by ROBERT EDWARD BEGGS B.E.S, University of Waterloo, 1997 A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in ENVIRONMENT AND MANAGEMENT We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard ……………………………………. Dr. Stephen Grundy, Dean Science, Technology & Environment Division ……………………………………. Dr. Jim McTaggart-Cowan, Core Faculty Science, Technology & Environment Division ……………………………………. Nitya C. Harris, P.Eng. M.E.Des., Associate Faculty Science, Technology & Environment Division ROYAL ROADS UNIVERSITY February 2001 Robert Edward Beggs, 2001 ii Acknowledgements My work on the role of renewable oil fuels and diesel engines in the context of sustainability has been interesting and challenging. I would like to thank the following people for their invaluable assistance: My thesis advisor, Dr. Jim McTaggart-Cowan, whose understanding of the effects of human influences on the atmosphere, and his enthusiastic advocacy of the many solutions that could improve the current situation, were a source of inspiration in my selection of a thesis topic. I would like to thank those who provided assistance and support in the research for this thesis, including Dave Gourley and Brad Coupland of Pacific Vehicle Testing Technologies Ltd.; Barry Hertz of the University of Saskatchewan; and Marc Laplante of Fluid Life Corporation. Henry Mackaay, the co-founder of Neoteric Biofuels, became the project’s research assistant. His skill in various trades and his enthusiasm for trying new ideas for the production and use of renewable oil fuels were important contributions. I would like to acknowledge the moral support of my friends in the Royal Roads “MEM99” cohort; it was appreciated. iii Lastly, I wish to acknowledge the encouragement of my parents, Jack and Velda Beggs; my sister, Margo; and especially the support and patience that my wife, Cheryl, and my sons Dawson and Eli, have given me, as I pursued my studies. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.......................................................................................................................II CHAPTER ONE – STUDY BACKGROUND..........................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 1 Research Question............................................................................................................................... 1 DEFINITIONS.............................................................................................................................................. 2 Renewable Oil Fuel (RO) .................................................................................................................... 2 Recovered Renewable Oil (RRO) ........................................................................................................ 2 Renewable Oil Fuel System (ROFS).................................................................................................... 3 Sustainability and Sustainable System Design ....................................................................................3 THE DIESEL ENGINE: TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES, PROBLEMS OF WIDESPREAD USE ................................. 5 The Compression Ignition (Diesel) Engine and Petroleum (Petrodiesel) Fuel................................... 5 Direct Injection and Indirect Injection Diesel Engines....................................................................... 8 Diesel Exhaust After-Treatment Technology.......................................................................................9 Embodied Energy and Economic Necessity of Existing Stock of Diesel Engines.............................. 10 Scale and Scope of Diesel Engine Use .............................................................................................. 10 Environmental / Health Effects Related to Diesel Exhaust Emissions .............................................. 11 Particulate Matter Emissions from Diesel Engines Operating on Petrodiesel ................................. 13 The Role of Fine Particulate Matter in Diesel Exhaust in Regard to Climate Change..................... 14 Atmospheric Transformation and Deposition ................................................................................... 15 Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions from Diesel Engines .................................................................... 16 Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) and Carbon Monoxide (CO) Emissions from Diesel Engines .................................................................. 16 RENEWABLE OIL – A TRADITIONAL RENEWABLE FUEL - AND POTENTIAL ALTERNATE FUEL FOR THE DIESEL ENGINE ....................................................................................................................................... 17 Historic Use of Renewable Oil as Fuel ............................................................................................. 17 Renewable Oil as Fuel in Diesel Engines.......................................................................................... 19 Renewable Oil Fuel System (ROFS) Viscosity Reduction Approach................................................ 20 Biodiesel Viscosity Reduction Approach........................................................................................... 21 Emission Reduction Potential of Renewable Oil............................................................................... 22 Other Concerns and Risks of Fossil Fuels and the Potential Role of RO in Reducing Such Risks ... 23 POTENTIAL CAUSES OF THE PROBLEM/OPPORTUNITY ............................................................................. 30 Market Penetration of Diesel Engines............................................................................................... 30 Petrodiesel Pricing............................................................................................................................ 31 Future Demand for Diesels and Implications of Diesel Engine Longevity ....................................... 31 Petrodiesel Substitution with Renewable Oil .................................................................................... 32 Sustainable System Design and Diesel Engine Use .......................................................................... 32 CO2 and RO ....................................................................................................................................... 34 RO and Fuel Cells ............................................................................................................................. 34 CHAPTER TWO – LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................................35 REVIEW OF ORGANISATION DOCUMENTS ................................................................................................ 35 REVIEW OF SUPPORTING LITERATURE..................................................................................................... 36 Overview............................................................................................................................................ 36 Internet Discussion Group and Web Site Resources for RO ............................................................. 38 RO – RECENT RESEARCH ....................................................................................................................... 39 Particulate Matter (PM) Reduction................................................................................................... 39 RO Emissions of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH)............................................................ 42 Smog Forming Potential of RO ......................................................................................................... 43 Health Effects .................................................................................................................................... 43 Carcinogenicity ................................................................................................................................. 43 v Energy Balance ................................................................................................................................. 44 Kyoto Protocol Implications for RO Fuels........................................................................................ 45 ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF RO .................................................................................... 46 Overview............................................................................................................................................ 46 Recovered Renewable Oil (RRO) ...................................................................................................... 47 Agricultural RO Feedstocks .............................................................................................................. 48 Effect on Crop Prices of RO Fuels and Potential Outcome .............................................................. 51 RO Fuel Crops as Part of Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture and Urban Greening ...................... 52 Feedstocks from Inedible Oils ........................................................................................................... 53 Rapeseed/Canola..............................................................................................................................