Bio-diesel Fuel Additive Made from Vegetable Oil and Deep-Fat Fryer Grease May Reduce Engine Wear

Posted November 26, 2003


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Wednesday, November 26, 2003 2003-11-16-ENG

Bio-diesel Fuel Additive Made from Vegetable Oil and Deep-Fat Fryer Grease
May Reduce Engine Wear

University of Saskatchewan chemical engineer Ajay Dalai has received
$240,000 over three years to create a biodegradable lubricating additive for
diesel engines that may reduce engine wear by up to 50 per cent and improve
fuel economy by up to 10 per cent.

Made from low-grade canola and soy oils as well as waste restaurant grease,
the bio-diesel additive will also drastically lower environmentally harmful
sulfur levels in diesel fuel.

The study is funded through a joint venture between the BIOCAP Canada
Foundation and the federal Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
(NSERC).

"Professor Dalai's innovative work is a fine example of U of S research
excellence," said Steven Franklin, U of S Vice-President of Research. "Not
only will his research help reduce harmful environmental emissions, it could
boost the Canadian economy by lengthening engine life and paving the way for
the domestic production of a new fuel product."

"It is exactly this kind of cutting-edge research that is generating
technologies to support a sustainable future for the next generation of
Canadians," said David Layzell, CEO and Research Director for the BIOCAP
Canada Foundation. "BIOCAP is proud to have been one of the factors making
Dr. Dalai's research a reality."

Every year, Canadians use about 40 billion litres of diesel fuel, which
contribute to air pollution and health problems by releasing high levels of
sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere.

In 2001, Environment Canada announced a plan to significantly reduce sulphur
dioxide emissions by 97 per cent within five years. But the technology that
reduces sulfur from diesel during production also removes lubricating agents
from the fuel, which can cause damage to fuel pumps, injector pumps, shaft
bearings, and other moving engine parts.

Dalai has found that adding just one per cent of the bio-diesel additive to
sulphur-reduced diesel fuel can improve the fuel's lubricity, increasing
engine efficiency and extending engine life.

"The additive is a biodegradable fuel with low emissions that requires no
engine modifications to use," says Dalai, a Canada Research Chair in
Bio-Energy and Environmentally Friendly Chemical Processing.

"The product will also decrease the undesirable waste of canola and green
soy seeds, as well as deep-fat fryer grease."

Dalai hopes to see domestic production of the additive within three years.

The BIOCAP Canada Foundation (www.biocap.ca), a not-for-profit research
foundation, brings together the nation's leading researchers and
decision-makers to understand how Canada's biological systems, including
forests and farmlands, can help in the fight against climate change while
improving the environment and the economy.

NSERC (www.nserc.ca) is a key federal agency that supports basic university
research, project research through partnerships among universities,
governments and the private sector, as well as the advanced training of
highly qualified people.

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For more information, contact:

Professor Ajay Dalai
U of S Department of Chemical Engineering
(Currently on sabbatical at the University of Kentucky
Centre for Applied Energy Research
Lexington, KY, USA)
(859) 257-0216
dalai@engr.usask.ca

Kathryn Warden
Research Communications Officer
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-2506
kathryn.warden@usask.ca
www.usask.ca/research

Wendy McFarlane
Scientific Liaison
BIOCAP Canada Foundation
(613) 533-2315 Ext. 25
mcfarlanew@biocap.ca