City cutting emissions by the busload
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com Published Wednesday September 5th, 2007 Appeared on page A4
For about a cent per litre, city transit buses cut carbon monoxide emissions by 65 per cent and increased fuel performance by 20 per cent thanks to a vegetable additive.
The city's public safety and environment committee was briefed Tuesday on the outcome of the three-month pilot project that saw a canola-based fuel additive, made by New Brunswick-based Eastern Greenway Oils Inc., mixed in with diesel for three city transit buses.
The product, called 4 Plus Premium Bio Diesel Additive, is made from canola and mustard, which is grown in rotation with potatoes.
University of New Brunswick chemical engineer Frank Collins, the director of Innovation and Opportunity Atlantic Canada, monitored the pilot project.
Six buses were used. Three used the additive and three didn't. The buses were paired by engine type to make a fair comparison between use and non-use of the additive. Mileage was recorded and emissions monitored for the 12 weeks of the project.
"With the data collected, the buses showed as much as a 20 per cent increase in fuel economy," Collins told the committee.
There was a 65 per cent reduction in carbon monoxide emissions and a one per cent improvement in combustion efficiency. The additive helped to lubricate the bus engine, reducing maintenance.
The reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions if the city's 27 buses used the additive would total 2,200 kilograms per year, Collins said.
Public safety committee chairman Tony Whalen was encouraged by the results.
"With a reduction in fuel and a reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions and improved engine life and maintenance, I hope we're going to see some proposals come to council this fall," Whalen said.
Saving 20 per cent on the fuel bill is substantial, Whalen said.
Randy Perkins, fleet manager for the city, said only 12 litres of additive were required over the three-month trial. Only about a thimbleful of additive is needed for a litre of diesel fuel, making the additive inexpensive.
But Perkins said the city will have to consider its options since the federal government is looking at requiring municipalities with fleets of vehicles to use a certain percentage of biodiesel fuel -- not an additive -- by 2012.
Biodiesel is costlier than an additive and there are obstacles to its full development.
Eastern Greenway Oils uses oilseed crops to produce biodiesel.
Collins said the transportation sector generates about 70 per cent of the carbons that contribute to greenhouse gas buildup in the atmosphere.