October 2008 issue
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Backgrounder
Beyond the Biofuel Headlines
BY REINHARD SCHUETZ, P.ENG.
Chair, Outreach Committee
Alberta Biodiesel Association
Not all biofuels are created equal and media reporting about them has often been inaccurate. Stories about the impact on food prices, energy output, pollution reduction and more have often been, at best, incomplete.
Canadian biofuels are clearly beneficial and we need to understand their importance to climate, air quality, farming and future clean fuels.
Biodiesel, a petroleum diesel replacement alternative, is derived from a variety of renewable feedstocks such as vegetable oil, animal fat and used fryer grease. Ethanol, typically a gasoline additive, is mainly produced from a starch or cellulosic feedstock such as sugarcane, wheat or corn.
Some media accounts have suggested postponement of renewable fuel policies due to increased global food prices. This would create a serious setback, not only for immediate pollution reduction but also for the development of second-generation biofuels from non-food feedstock. Some of these are algae, camelina, jatropha, hemp, cornstalks and woodchips.
Causes of higher food prices are historical and diverse, but the search for quick and easy explanations has made biofuels a convenient scapegoat. Recent dramatic price increases in many commodities with no connection to biofuels — rice and steel, for example — are evidence that forces other than biofuel growth are driving commodity prices higher.
It is also relevant to note that typically only five to 10 per cent of retail pricing for bakery goods pertains to cereal costs. And, in discussions about food prices, it is seldom acknowledged that high-protein animal feed, produced as a biofuel byproduct, actually contributes to maintaining lower food costs.
Analyses by senior U.N., U.S. and E.U. agriculture commission officials have not identified biofuels as a commodity needing significant reform in the push to fix the world’s agricultural problems. Recent drops in commodity food prices from highs earlier this year are already alleviating pressure on food costs.
To properly address the present global food crises, it is important to recognize and understand that a number of factors have been identified as playing a significant role. These are
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speculative commodity trading
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several years of severe weather conditions
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between 30-50 per cent of globally produced food is wasted
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petroleum costs along every step of the food supply chain
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expensive energy imports impoverish developing countries
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significant increased protein demand in developing nations
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developed-world agriculture subsidies (making food production uneconom-ical in developing countries)
When properly balanced with food production, biofuels
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are improving the economic viability for millions of poor farming communities
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will help stabilize global warming, and thereby assist in more secure food production
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effectively reduced petroleum fuel consumption, and moderated petroleum fuel pricing by about 15 per cent.
Canadian biodiesel fully qualifies as a smart biofuel. Biodiesel made from Canadian-grown feedstock — mainly canola — offers clear benefits today.
It provides immediate action on climate change by reducing greenhouse gases in excess of 75 per cent. It improves local air quality. It produces no sulfur emissions, returns energy by three-to-one in an output-to-input ratio, and increases lubricity for longer engine life. It is also considered non-toxic, non-corrosive, non-flammable and biodegradable.
In addition to moving and warming us, petroleum is in more everyday consumer and industrial products than most of us realize. Biofuels provide one of the best means to extend this finite petroleum availability for future uses where there will be few substitutes.
There is no quick fix to recent food price increases. However, a more thorough assessment shows that food and fuel can co-exist for the benefit of all. Biofuels, simply put, are critical today, and even more so in the future to a world facing the end of so-called cheap oil.
A sustainable, renewable and balanced global agricultural industry is one of the main ingredients in feeding the world and also keeping it mobile.
Editor’s Note: The Alberta Biodiesel Association is a non-profit organization made up of representatives of the industry, educational institutions and others interested in promoting biodiesel as an alternative fuel source for diesel engines.
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