Fat on water

Green marine

BY LYLE JENISH

The Globe and Mail

TOFINO -- In keeping with its über-green image, Tofino is now home to Canada's first commercial marine biodiesel station. On April 1, Method Marine began pumping the renewable fuel made from soybeans from 50,000-litre tanks to power whale-watching boats, fishing vessels, resort generators and fish farms.

To start, Method Marine is offering a B5 mixture - petrodiesel with 5-per-cent biodiesel content.

"The Pacific marine industry could use as high as a B20 mixture," said Peter Dunderdale of Victoria-based Columbia Fuels, Method Marine's biodiesel supplier.

Biodiesel is more susceptible to cold than pure petrodiesel, slowing and becoming viscous as the temperature drops. B100's "cloud point" - the temperature at which the paraffin wax in the fuel starts to separate - is -4 , B5 clouds at -24 and B20 clouds at -22.

"Wind chill has no impact on biodiesel," Mr. Dunderdale said. He added that because of the temperate weather on the B.C. coast, the B20 version of biodiesel is likely to be adopted in the future.

Jamie's Whaling Station general manager Dave Christensen said the 65-foot Leviathan II fuelled up with biodiesel for the first time on April 17.

"So far we have not noticed any difference in the performance," he said.

Once comfortable with the new product, he expects the whale watch company will convert its two other diesel vessels, a 35- and a 45-footer.

For mariners venturing onto the treacherous Pacific, a working, reliable engine is crucial for survival. One of the initial dangers but long-term benefits of biodiesel is its emulsifying effect on particulates in long-serving fossil fuel tanks, flushing out sediments through the fuel lines, sometimes clogging filters.

"Offshore tuna boats are not good candidates [to adopt outright]," said Method Marine owner Steve Bernard, because they go far from shore and cannot easily return to port for repairs. It is essential that boat owners have regular maintenance and a clean fuel system before making the switch, he added.

Mr. Bernard said commercial clients Mainstream fish farms and Clayoquot Wilderness Resorts & Spa have been enthusiastic, and have not been put off by the one- to two-cent-per-litre premium. He said operators are reporting a reduction in smell and change in exhaust odour, and with the fact biofuels reduce carbon dioxide emissions - by up to 90 per cent when B100 is burned - another "green" branding and marketing opportunity has emerged.

Biodiesel may also begin to calm the dispute over spillage and leakage from marine fuelling stations. A May, 2005, study from the governments of Canada and Quebec on the use of biofuels in tour boats in the Old Port of Montreal and the Lachine Canal compared the rates at which biodiesel and petrodiesel break down in the environment. B100 was found to have a biodegradation rate 2.5 times that of petrodiesel, with 85 per cent of a spill degrading in only eight days, compared with 41-per-cent biodegradation for petrodiesel in the same period.

Mr. Dunderdale said pure biodiesel, depending on what it's made of, is also essentially free of sulphur and aromatics. He said Method Marine uses the "champagne of biodiesel," a soy-based product brewed in Iowa by food and agricultural product multinational Cargill. Shipped by railcar to Vancouver, Columbia Fuels trucks and blends the biodiesel with petrodiesel in Victoria.

John Caton, managing director of Clayoquot Wilderness Resorts & Spa, said that on April 1, an 80-foot-long landing craft delivered 2,000 litres to the resort, which is at the mouth of the Bedwell River, about 15 kilometres by water north of Tofino. On April 7, the resort bought another 2,000 litres.

Mr. Caton said that until Method Marine decided to introduce biodiesel, Clayoquot Wilderness Resorts considered building its storage facility with Mainstream. He said moral suasion - and the fact Clayoquot Wilderness Resorts buys more than 300,000 litres of diesel a year from Method Marine helped station owner Mr. Bernard make up his mind.

"We use biodiesel in three of our generators and in our boats. It is available, it works and helps prevent climate change and should be a [purchase] option everywhere, including the marine environment," Mr. Caton said. "Tofino just happens to be the perfect place to introduce it."