Bio-Energy Canada 2022: Transportation Biofuels from Hemp
Transportation accounts for approximately 25% of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), of which almost half comes from passenger cars and light trucks. The Government of Canada is steadfast in its conviction that the electrification of Canada’s light-duty vehicles as well as a shift to cleaner fuels are key to the decarbonization of our transportation sector. (Source: Government of Canada)
Why talk about this topic?
- Canada has set targets of 40–45% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030. We are here to take a deep dive into how exactly that will be possible from the perspective of the growing biofuels market.
Points of Discussion:
- Policies in place to reach carbon reduction goal for 2030.
- Transport Biofuels: C02 Prevention and CO2 Capture
- Hemp in the transport fuel sector: Ethanol and Biodiesel
Canada’s Policies for Carbon Reduction Target 2030
The Clean Fuel Regulations (CFR)
“Previously known as Clean Fuel Standard, draft regulations were published in December 2020. The CFR will require liquid fuel (gasoline, diesel) suppliers to gradually reduce the carbon intensity of the fuels they produce and sell for use in Canada over time, leading to a decrease of approximately 13% (below 2016 levels) in the carbon intensity of our liquid fuels used in Canada by 2030. The CFR will introduce a credit system whereby the regulation can be met by purchasing credits or through other actions. The CFR will create economic opportunities for voluntary parties like biofuel producers and other lower carbon fuel producers to create and sell credits.” (Source: IEA Bioenergy)
Points to Note:
- Increased cost of carbon credit and more strict requirements to comply with carbon limits. The initiation of a multi-billion dollar carbon market with opportunities for voluntary carbon credits to be generated.
- Reduced carbon intensity (13% reduction by 2030) of fuels produced and sold in Canada.
- To learn more about the policy, read this article from Navius Research: “Canada’s Clean Fuel Regulations: Summary of policy design and insights”
- To learn more about how carbon credits work and what a carbon credits market looks like, read this Medium Article: “Generating Carbon Credits with Hemp”
Canada’s Renewable Fuels Regulations
“These regulations require fuel producers and importers to have an average renewable fuel content of at least 5% based on the volume of gasoline that they produce or import into Canada and of at least 2% based on the volume of diesel fuel and heating distillate oil that they produce or import into Canada. Many provinces have more aggressive targets (see Figure 7), for example, Ontario and Quebec require a 10% renewable content in gasoline, which will be raised to 15% in 2030 (Ontario) and 2025 (Quebec).”(Source: IEA Bioenergy)
Points to Note:
- Renewable fuel requirement in all fuels anywhere between 2% to 10%, depending on the province and the type of fossil fuel.
- This will drive up the production of renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel which are often mixed with fossil fuels. Gasoline in British Columbia currently contains 5% ethanol, unless otherwise stated for specific engine types.
- For a detailed breakdown of the regulations, see this link from the Government of Canada Website: “Renewable Fuels Regulations”
Transport Biofuels: Renewable and Eco-Friendly
Canada currently has one of the highest amount of transport fuels used per capita. Due to the country’s size and low population, this could always be a challenge.
As seen in the chart above, most of Canada’s transport fuels come from Diesel and Gasoline, which are not renewable fuels. The use of fossil fuels for transport has been increasing in recent years (Source: IEA Bioenergy).
Prevention VS Reduction
By using ecofriendly fuel options, we are attacking the problem on two fronts. We are both preventing CO2 emissions by using cleaner fuel options and capturing CO2 emissions by the growth of CO2 hungry crops that clean our atmosphere.
Prevention: Proactive approach to have less CO2 emissions
“Ethanol and ethanol-gasoline mixtures burn cleaner.” (Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration)
“Biodiesel burns much cleaner than petroleum diesel. Biodiesel is nontoxic and biodegradable.” (Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Reduction: Removing CO2 from our atmosphere
Not many crops are as carbon hungry as hemp, this plant can be used to make biodiesel and ethanol.
Industrial hemp absorbs 22 tonnes of CO2 per hectare, compared to a tree which absorbs 10 tonnes of CO2 per year,.
Renewable ≠ Eco-Friendly
The unfortunate reality is that simply because a fuel is renewable, that does not mean that is can help to reduce carbon emissions. The two most popular renewable fuels around the world are also two major causes of carbon emissions around the planet.
Corn Ethanol and Palm Biodiesel are the two most popular biofuels but sadly the are overall emitting more emissions than gasoline, therefore making them worse than gasoline.
Corn ethanol is likely at least 24% more carbon-intensive than gasoline.
Hemp for Transport Fuels: Ethanol and Biodiesel
The reasons which make hemp such a great candidate for biofuels can be looked at from two main reasons.
- Ecofriendly: Proven to have an overall carbon negative result
- Fuel standards: Capable of meeting fuel requirements
In order to understand the effectiveness of hemp biofuels, we will compare them to other mainstream biofuels that have been proven to meet standards.
Hemp Oil Biodiesel vs Palm Oil Biodiesel
Yield Comparison
Gallons per hectare equals to the amount of gallons of biodiesel that can be produced for each hectare of plant grown. The two highest yield plants on the list are hemp and palm.
Palm oil biodiesel has double the amount of yield compared to hemp seed biodiesel but hemp is still one of the highest ranking in terms of yield.
Calorific Value Comparison
Definition: The energy contained in a fuel or food, determined by measuring the heat produced by the complete combustion of a specified quantity of it.
This shows that hemp oil biodiesel has a higher calorific value (energy density) in comparison.
Palm oil biodiesel is 36,764 kJ/kg
Hemp oil biodiesel is 41,742 kJ/kg
Performance
The way an engine performs when being used with biodiesel fuels. A common biodiesel fuel blend is B20, in which 20% of the fuel is biodiesel and the 80% is standard diesel.
Palm oil biodiesel B20 blend is effective in it’s purpose and is commonly used in Asia. The Malaysian government is planning to implement a B20 palm oil biodiesel mandate by the end of 2022.
Hemp oil biodiesel B20 blend is proven to work in experiments with a standard diesel engine. It is capable of providing adequate performance without any engine modifications.
Cellulose Based Ethanol: Hemp Vs Switchgrass
Hemp is approx. 70% cellulose content, Switchgrass is approx. 40% cellulose content and Wood Chip is approx. 50% cellulose content.
Higher cellulose content (higher carbohydrate content) means more ethanol production.
Major Bioenergy Projects in Canada
Source: Implementation of bioenergy in Canada — 2021 update by IEA Bioenergy
La Coop Carbone and Coop-Energie Warwick started up a centralized digester in Warwick, Quebec in March 2021. The project takes in manure from 6 farms, waste from a local cheese manufacturer as well as municipal biosolids. The generated biogas is upgraded to 83,500 GJ of RNG (biomethane) that is injected into the gas pipeline, and the nutrients are returned to local farms as fertilizer. http://coopcarbone.coop/fr/activites/biomethanisation
H2V Energies has announced a new hydrogen plant expected to begin production in 2022. This project will utilize a plasma gasification technology to convert raw residual biomass into syngas to produce 49,000 tonnes/year of hydrogen. https://renewablesnow.com/news/h2v-energies-to-build-green-hydrogen-plant-in-quebec-opens-order-book-684374/
Covenant Energy Ltd. and Haldor Topsoe have announced a renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel facility projected to begin production in Saskatchewan in 2024. The plant will produce 6,500 barrels/day of renewable diesel. https://blog.topsoe.com/covenant-energy-chooses-haldor-topsoes-hydroflex-and-h2bridge-solution-to-produce-renewable-diesel-with-low-carbon-footprint
Forge Hydrocarbons Corp. will produce 7.5 million gallons/year of renewable fuels in Sombra, Ontario. This facility, which expects to begin operations in 2021, will utilize a patented lipid-to-hydrogen technology to produce renewable jet fuel, diesel and naphtha fuel from waste fats and oils. https://www.canadianbiomassmagazine.ca/forge-hydrocarbons-to-build-30m-biofuel-plant-in-ontario/
The Dufferin Organics Processing Facility in Toronto, ON is set to upgrade the biogas produced from processing food waste into renewable natural gas. This project, which began construction in 2018, has an anticipated production of 3.2 million cubic metres/year of renewable natural gas. https://www.canadianbiomassmagazine.ca/toronto-organics-processing-facility-to-convert-food-waste-to-rng/
Parkland Fuel Corp. is expanding the volume of canola and tallow feedstock co-processed at BC’s Parkland Refining refinery in North Burnaby. The 2021 expansion will see current feedstock volumes increase from 44 million litres/year to 100 million litres/year, allowing the company to deliver low carbon fuels with up to 15% renewable content. https://www.ogj.com/refining-processing/refining/optimization/article/14197850/parkland-fuels-burnaby-refinery-to-expand-renewables-coprocessing
Expander Energy Inc. is looking to build a 22 million litres/year biomass/gas to liquids plant in Slave Lake, AB. The plant will produce net-zero carbon intensity fuels including diesel fuel, jet fuel, and blue hydrogen. The fuels are expected to be commercially available by 2024. https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/expander-energy-to-produce-net-zero-carbon-fuels-by-2024-860261771.html
Bioénergie La Tuque recently received funding from the government of Québec to design and develop an advanced biofuels facility which will make use of locally sourced forest residues in collaboration with the Council of the Atikamekw Nation and Neste. https://www.neste.com/releases-and-news/renewable-solutions/government-quebec-announces-its-support-advanced-biofuel-project-carried-out-jointly-bioenergie-la
Greenfield Global announced an expansion to its Johnstown, Ontario facility, which will produce an additional 100M litres/year of high purity alcohols before then end of 2021. https://greenfield.com/news/2020/greenfield-global-announces-a-100-million-litre-high-purity-alcohol-expansion-in-ontario/
Carbon Engineering has partnered with LanzaTech to produce sustainable aviation fuel in an air-to-jet facility based in the UK. The facility expects to produce over 100 million litres/year of sustainable aviation fuel from captured atmospheric carbon dioxide. https://carbonengineering.com/news-updates/ce-lanzatech-jet-fuel/
SAF+ Consortium has signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for the construction of a power-to-liquid pilot plant near Montreal. Production is expected to begin as early as 2021 and a commercial scale plant is planned for 2025. https://safplusconsortium.com/blog/airbus-joins-canadas-saf-consortium-to-accelerate-the-development-of-a-new-sustainable-aviation-fuel-technology/
Steeper Energy Canada Ltd. has signed an agreement with the city of Calgary to construct a demonstration plant at the Pine Creek Wastewater treatment plant. The demonstration plant will produce sustainable biofuels from the city’s sewage sludge and waste using Steeper’s proprietary Hydrofaction® technology. https://www.renewableenergymagazine.com/biofuels/calgary-signs-mou-with-steeper-energy-canada-20200807
Genifuel Corp. and Metro Vancouver are collaborating on a demonstration plant to produce bio-crude oil from sewage. Operation is expected to begin in 2022. https://canada.constructconnect.com/joc/news/projects/2021/02/tender-for-worlds-first-wastewater-sludge-bio-crude-pilot-coming
Woodland Biofuels has announced plans to build a commercial facility in Sarnia which will produce 80 million litres/year of ethanol from forestry waste and construction and demolition wood waste. https://blackburnnews.com/sarnia/sarnia-news/2019/08/27/new-biofuels-plant-planned-sarnia/
Surrey Biofuel facility opened in 2018 and processes 115,000 tonnes/year of organic waste to produce 120,000 GJ/year of renewable natural gas and 45,000 tonnes/year of compost. https://www.surrey.ca/services-payments/waste-collection/surrey-biofuel-facility
G4 Insights Inc. is building a demonstration plant to produce renewable natural gas from forestry biomass via a proprietary pyrocatalytic hydrogenation process. https://www.ngif.ca/portfolio-item/g4-insights-inc/
CRB Innovations announced a pilot plant project in the fall of 2020 which will convert forestry residuals into biofuels and co-bioproducts. The plant will be located in Sherbrooke, Québec. https://www.canadianbiomassmagazine.ca/crb-innovations-receives-8-575m-to-convert-wood-waste-into-biofuels/
For more information, read the articles below:
- Potential of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) for bioenergy production in Canada: Status, challenges and outlook
- Hemp: The Single Best Solution for Worldwide Carbon Sequestration
