"Applied Science, Faculty of"@en . "DSpace"@en . "UBCV"@en . "University of British Columbia. Sustainability Office"@en . "Figueira, Alicia"@en . "Boldt, Nathan"@en . "Dorion, Ethan"@en . "Bellary, Gautam"@en . "2014-07-22T21:08:18Z"@en . "2012-03-29"@en . "In alignment with the goals of sustainability at UBC, outlined by Alberto Cayuela\u00E2\u0080\u0099s presentation on March 6, 2012, an evaluation is being conducted on the potential of manufacturing and use of an alternative fuel called biodiesel. Presently, UBC is using petroleum diesel, B5 blend (5% biodiesel and 95% petroleum diesel mixture) and regular gasoline to fuel the campus maintenance and operations vehicles. Additionally, there is a significant amount of waste grease that UBC is producing through various food outlets on campus. The proposed project that is being evaluated will address these two issues and ultimately head in the direction of sustainability and reduced environmental impact. The focus of this evaluation is the feasibility of producing biodiesel fuel from the waste grease produced by UBC, based on a triple bottom line assessment.\r\nThe triple bottom line assessment is a criterion for evaluating the environmental, social and economic impacts of a product. A thorough qualitative and quantitative analysis is conducted at each step of the product\u00E2\u0080\u0099s life. The environmental impacts, economic feasibility and social acceptance are evaluated and compared to conclude the concept\u00E2\u0080\u0099s practicability.\r\nThe result of the triple bottom line assessment concludes that biodiesel is a superior alternative fuel to diesel petroleum. Environmentally, biodiesel produces less amounts of harmful emissions compared to petroleum diesel. In its 30 year life cycle, biodiesel produces 86% less emissions compared to those of petroleum diesel. In addition, it produces less cancerous compounds, which reduces the health risks of burning fuel. Economically, despite high capital costs, manufacturing and using biodiesels at UBC is feasible, if creative measures are taken. Finally on a social scale biodiesel is looked upon positively by the majority of people and a learning opportunity is created through student involvement. For UBC, an alternative fuel that reduces harmful emissions is the next step toward total sustainability. When the standards of the ASTM are met, biodiesel can be used in UBC\u00E2\u0080\u0099s campus vehicles with a seamless transition. For these reasons, it is recommended that UBC implement the manufacturing and use of biodiesel made from waste grease for campus vehicles. Disclaimer: \u00E2\u0080\u009CUBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.\u00E2\u0080\u009D"@en . "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/48468?expand=metadata"@en . "UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report An Investigation into the Feasibility of Producing and Using Biodiesel from Waste Grease at UBC Alicia Figueira Nathan Boldt Ethan Dorion Gautam Bellary University of British Columbia APSC 262 March 29, 2012 Disclaimer: \u00E2\u0080\u009CUBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report\u00E2\u0080\u009D. An Investigation into the Feasibility of Producing and Using Biodiesel from Waste Grease at UBC Applie d Scie nce 262 \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Technol ogy and Socie ty II Writ te n for: Dr. Paul Winke lman Writ te n by : Alic ia Figueira Natha n Boldt Ethan Dorion Gauta m Bellary Date of Submiss ion: Marc h 29, 2012 ABS TRAC T In ali gnment with the go als of sust ainabili t y at UBC , outl ined by Alberto Cayuela\u00E2\u0080\u0099s presentation on Mar ch 6, 2012, an evaluation is being condu cted on the pot enti al of manufacturin g and use of an alt ernati ve fuel call ed biodi esel. Presentl y , UBC is using petroleum diesel , B5 blend (5 % bio diesel and 95% petrol eu m diesel mixt ure) and re gular gasoli ne to fuel the campus maintenan ce and operat ions vehi cles . Additi onall y, the re is a signific ant amount of waste grease that UBC is producin g throu gh vario us food outl ets on campus . The proposed project that is bein g eval uated wil l address t hes e two issues and ult im atel y head in the dire cti on of sust ainabili t y and redu ced environment al impac t . T he focus of thi s evalu ati on is the feasibi li t y of producin g biodi esel fuel from the wa ste gr ease produc ed b y UBC , based on a tripl e bott om line assessment . The tripl e bott om line assessment is a criter ion fo r evaluatin g the environme ntal, social and economi c impacts of a product. A thorou gh quali tative and quanti tative an al ysis is conducted at each step of the product\u00E2\u0080\u0099s life. The environment a l impacts, economi c fe asibi li t y and social acc eptanc e ar e ev alu ated and compar ed to conclude the concept\u00E2\u0080\u0099s practicability. The result of the tripl e bo tt om line assessment conclude s that biodi esel is a superior alt ernati ve fu el to diesel petroleum. Envi ronment all y , biodi esel produ ces l ess amount s of harmful emis sions compared to petrol eum diesel. In its 30 year life c ycle , biodi esel produce s 8 6% less emi ssi ons compared to those of petroleu m diesel. In addit ion, it produces less canc erous compounds , which reduc es the healt h risks of burning fuel. E co nomi call y, despit e high capit al costs , manuf acturin g and usin g biodi e sels at UBC is feasibl e , if creati ve m easur es are tak en . Finall y on a social scale biodies el is look ed upon posi ti vel y b y t he majorit y of people and a lea rning oppo rtunit y is created t hrou gh stud ent invol vement . For UBC , an alt ern ati ve fu el that reduces harmful emi ssi ons is the nex t step toward total sust ainabili t y. When the standards of the ASTM are met, biodiesel can be used in UBC\u00E2\u0080\u0099s campus vehicles with a seaml ess transit ion . For these reasons, it is recomm ended that UBC implement the manufactu ring and use of biodi esel made from was te gr eas e for campus vehi cles. Page 1 of 21 TABLE OF CONTE NTS LIST OF ILLUSTR AT IONS ...........................................................................................................2 GLOSS ARY ............................................................................................................................. .......3 LIS T OF ABBR EV IAT IONS .........................................................................................................4 1.0 INTRODUCT IO N .... .................................................................................................................5 1.1 WHAT IS BIOD IESE L? ...............................................................................................5 1.2 WHAT IS DIE S E L FUE L? ........................................................................................... 6 2.0 ECONOM IC ANA LYS IS ................................ ......................................................... ... ............ 7 2.1 CURR ENT SPEND ING ................................... ........................................ ..................... 7 2.2 CAPA L COSTS ........................................................................... .................................. 7 3.0 ENV IR ONMENT A L ANA LYS IS .................... ..................................................................... ...9 3.1 UBC\u00E2\u0080\u0099S CURRENT CONS UMP T ION............ ................................ ............................ ..9 3.2 CONS UMP T ION EM IS S IONS ...................... .... .......... ................................... .............9 3.3 LIF ECYC LE EM IS S IO NS.......................... .......... ................................... ...................10 3. 4 HEA LTH EFFECTS . .......................................................................... .........................11 4.0 SOC IA L ANA LYS IS......................................................................................... ................ .... . 13 5.0 CONC LUS IO N ......... ................................................................................ ............................. ..15 REFERENCES ......................................................................................... ............................... .. .... 17 APP END IX A: ECONO M IC DAT A ..................... .................................................................... ... 2 0 A.1 CA LC U LA T ION OF B IOD IESE L PRODU C T IO N FOR UBC.......... ................... ...20 A.2 THE COST OF PRO DUC ING BIOD IESE L FROM 200 4 TO 2012...................... ...20 A. 3 CAP ITA L COSTS ... ................................................................................................. ..21 Page 2 of 21 LIS T OF ILLUSTR AT IONS Figu re 1 \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Emissi on Comparison between Biodi e sel and Petroleum Diesel . .............................. . 10 Figu re 2 \u00E2\u0080\u0093N et Li fec yc le Greenhous e Gas Emi ssi ons .................................................................... 11 Figu re 3 \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Biodi esel Sur ve y Result s...................... ....................................................................... 13 Table 1 \u00E2\u0080\u0093 UBC Fuel Nee ds from 2011 ................................................ ..................................... . .... . 9 Table 2 \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Cost of Produc ing Biodi es el................... ...................................................................... . 20 Page 3 of 21 G LOSS ARY Biodi esel \u00E2\u0080\u0093 A compr essi on ignit ed fuel us ed in a sim il ar way to p etroleum diesel in vehicles . Break Even \u00E2\u0080\u0093 The t im e that is required fo r the mo ne y s aved as a result of an investm ent to equal the mone y inv ested . Ecologic al Footprint \u00E2\u0080\u0093 The net impact som ethi ng has on the environment, i ncludi ng emi ssi ons and use of non \u00E2\u0080\u0093 renew a ble resourc es. Greas e \u00E2\u0080\u0093 The waste oil produced b y restaur ants that can be us ed to produc e biodi esel . Lif ec ycl e Emissi ons \u00E2\u0080\u0093 The tot al emis sions produced in the lifec ycl e of a product, coverin g producti on, transportati o n, consum pti on, disposal and stora ge. Low er Heati n g Value \u00E2\u0080\u0093 The amount of e n er g y released wh en a fu el is burn ed compl etel y . Carbon Monox ide \u00E2\u0080\u0093 A tox ic gas that combines wit h ox ygen in the atm osphere to produ ce carbon diox ide and oz one (both of which ar e poll utants to the atm osphere) . Scales of Econom y \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Inc reased effi cienc y of prod ucing a product due to ex pansion , which reduces costs of producti on . Soot \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Carbon particles result ing from incomplete combus ti on . Tar Sands \u00E2\u0080\u0093 S and or cl a y mix ed with water and bit umen ( a high er viscous form of crude oil ) OilP rice.com. (2012). Total Hyd roca rbon \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Compound consist ing of h ydrogen and ox yge n . Yell ow Grease \u00E2\u0080\u0093 The waste gr ease produc ed b y restaurants . Page 4 of 21 LIS T OF ABBR EV IAT IONS ASTM \u00E2\u0080\u0093 American Socie t y for Testi ng and Mate rials CO \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Carbon Monox ide L \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Litre mg \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Mill igr ams MJ /L \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Mega J oules per Lit r e k g \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Kilo gr ams lbs \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Pounds NO x \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Mono - Nitro gen Ox ides THC \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Total Hyd roca rbo n UBC - Unive rsit y of Briti sh Colum bia Page 5 of 21 1.0 INTRODUCTION At the Universit y of Briti sh Colum bia, environmental awar eness is a gro wing subj ect o f int erest. UBC is conti nu all y bro adenin g its horiz ons in the areas o f redu cing, reusing and rec ycli n g. All of the effo rts in each of thes e ar eas are le ading UBC towa rds a c ompl etel y sust ainable u niversit y ca mpus . To add to the list of projects U BC is ex ploring and ex ecuti ng , is the idea of fu ell ing the man y vehicles own ed and operated b y UBC with an alt ernati ve fu el. This fuel , call ed b iodi es el , is one that c ould be cr eat ed from waste grease that the UBC campus restaurants pr oduce. Th e sust ainab il it y mod el beh ind this project is that in using waste gre ase from UBC\u00E2\u0080\u0099s own campus to fuel its own vehicles result s in direct rec ycli n g of resour ces. Biodi esel , more importan tl y , redu ces gr eenhouse gas emiss ion significantl y when burned , compared to pet roleum diesel . In addit ion, o n a la rge economi c s cale, sinc e gr ease is a b y -product that alre ad y ex ist s, there would be no inc r eased dem and for comm odit ies and th us, using biodi esels creat ed with waste gre ase has no unint e nded eff ect on the econo m y (it would not influence the price of an y comm odit ies). This project aims to reduce UBC\u00E2\u0080\u0099s waste products by reusing them, ultimately recycling valuable resou rces and reducing the us e of environ mentall y ha rmful resour c es. In thi s stud y , the proposed proje ct wil l be investi gated usin g a tripl e bott om line assessment , from a n economi c perspecti ve, an environm ental perspe cti ve and fin all y a so cial persp ecti ve. The final con clusi ons and recomm end ati ons pe rtaini ng to this project wi ll be a car eful combi nati o n of the result s found in each of the t riple bott om line secti ons. 1.1 WHAT IS BIOD IESE L? To understand wh at this project is attempt ing to i mpl ement , it is important t o un derstand the contex t. What is b iodiesel? Where does it come from? To answer these questi ons one needs to start at the source. Bi odiesels can start in the form of anim al fats, ve get able oils , and gre ases. These products are then taken throu gh a che mi cal process call ed transest eri ficati on wher eb y the gl yc erin is separ ated fro m the fats, oils or gr eas es. The product left behind as a result of thi s process is call ed m eth yl ester which is the ch emi c al name for b iodi es el ( Na ti onal Biodi esel Board, 2012 ) . Biodi es el is better for the environment becaus e it is made fro m renewabl e resourc es and has few er emi ssi ons compared to p etroleum diesel. It is less tox ic than table salt Page 6 of 21 and biode grad es as fast as suga r ( Nati onal Biodi es el Boa rd , 2011) . Finall y , since it is made from renew able resourc es that UBC produc es, it limi ts the need fo r non - r enew ab le resourc es . 1.2 WHAT IS DIESE L FUE L? Diesel fuel is derived from crude oil. Crude oil is extracted from the Earth\u00E2\u0080\u0099s surface by the process of minin g. This crude oil contains h ydrocarbon compounds which are h yd ro gen and carbon mol ecul ar bonds. These h ydroc arbon bond s creat e h ydroc arbon ch a ins. Each chain h as a specific number of bonds and there fore car ries spe cific cha ra cterist ics. Aft er t he crude oil is ex tracted it is sent to oil refineries to sep arat e the different h yd roca rbon chai ns based on their boil ing point s. To separa te diesel from the crude oil , the oil is placed in a fracti onal disti ll ati on colum n and is then subj ected to a spec i fic temper a ture. Becaus e the h ydro c arbon chains h ave their own specific boil in g point s, simi lar ones ar e able to be coll ect ed toge ther . To sepa rate and coll ect greater quanti ti es of diesel, cat al ysts are us ed. The final step in mak ing diesel fu el is purificati on. The dies el fuel is react ed with a cat alys t ex posi ng it to h yd ro gen under cont rolled condit ions. The diesel is collected in its final state and sold. (Sandh ya r ani, 2011) Page 7 of 21 2.0 ECONOMIC ANALYSIS Accordin g to J usti n Ritchie (personal comm unica ti on, Februa r y 15, 2012), UBC produces a total of 30 45 0 lbs of gr ease per ye ar. If thi s is used to produce biodi esel, it could potentiall y be compl etel y converted to produ ce 30 450 lbs of biodiesel per year (15 695.3269 L/ ye ar, see Appendix A for calculati on) (Canak ci, 2005, Waste vegetable oi ls and anim al fats, para. 5). In 2011, UBC spent $355 , 149. 24 on pur e petroleum diesel and $128 , 979.43 on a B5 blend (5% biodi esel and 95% petroleum diesel mi x ture) wit h a tot al ex pendit ure of $484 , 128.67 on diesel fuel (personal comm unicati on with Adam McCl uske y) . One alt ern ati ve for UBC is to sell its grease to a bi odiesel manufa cturer wh o ma y be able to reduce the cost of prod ucti on by havin g la r ger scales of econom y. Due t o the increas e in the price of petroleum and in creas ed int erest in biodi e sel, the value of gr eas e has incre ased and companies are now pur c hasing waste gr ease from restaurants wh ere as in the past, the y have paid companies to dispos e of their gre ase ( Mor row , 200 8) . UBC could pot enti all y obtain approx im atel y $0.40/kg of greas e ($0.18/l b) ( Hun ter , 2006) , which would result in a revenu e of $5 , 524.75 per ye ar. This would reduce the ex pendit ure for fu el b y 1.14 % annuall y . Another alt ern ati ve is to produce biodi esel usi n g t he waste gr ease. The av e ra ge cost of producin g biodi esel over the past 8 years has been approx im atel y $0.38/ L ( Radich , 2004) (se e Appendix A) , which wou ld result in a cost of $5 , 9 64.22 per yea r to produc e . Since UBC would not be required to pur cha se the gre ase, thi s would reduce th e costs b y $5 , 52 4.75 per yea r. Therefo re, the total cost of producin g biodi esel fo r use at UBC would be $439.47 per ye ar. 2.1 CURR ENT SPEND ING Accordin g to Ad am McCl uske y, UBC purch ased a tot al of 412 , 850.97 [L] i n 2011 for a tot al cost of $484 , 128.67. This equates to approx im atel y $1.17/ L. Th e cos t, therefor e, to purchase th e amount of fuel that could be manuf a ctured on campus would be $18 , 405.08 per ye a r . 2.2 CAPA L COSTS A full manufacturin g s ys tem, including inst all ati on would cost $195 , 000 ( Circle Biodi esel & Ethanol Cor porati on , 2012) (se e App endix A) . Includi n g 12% tax es, the capit al Page 8 of 21 costs for producin g biodi esel would be app rox im atel y $218 , 400. With thi s capit al cost, it would take UBC approx im atel y 12.15 ye ars to br eak ev e n (obtained b y divi ding t he capit al cost b y the differen ce in cost p er ye a r of purch asing th e fuel). Although the cost of pro ducti on would eventuall y break ev en, it would be more economi call y fe asibl e to sell the waste grease pro duced at UBC and pur ch ase petroleum dies el, as opposed to using the grease to produ ce and use biodi esel. Howeve r, tech nolog y ma y adv anc e to reduce costs of produc ing biodi esel which ma y chan ge the out come of th is comparison. In addit ion, being a univ ersi t y, UBC has resou rces th at ma y be able to reduc e the capit al costs. Fo r ex ampl e, engine erin g stu dents could contribut e to the design and buil ding of the mechanism s. Once the capit al costs ha ve been paid off, UBC wil l be reducin g its ex pendit ure on diesel fuel b y $17 , 965.61 per ye ar (3.7 %). This project shou ld be revised economi call y once biodi esel producti on (includi ng ca pit al) has a redu ced cost or the value of greas e has increas ed. Page 9 of 21 3.0 ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS Biodi esel is made from renewabl e resour ces, whi ch have less of an enviro nmental impact compared to pet roleum d iesel, which is made fro m crude oil . In addit ion, b iodi esel produces fewe r emi ssi ons than petroleum ( United States Department of Ene r g y and t he United States Environmental Protecti on Agenc y , 2012 ). This s ecti on investi gat es the emi ssi ons produced when ea ch fuel is burn ed and the l ifec ycl e emi ssi ons of each fuel. 3.1 UBC\u00E2\u0080\u0099S CURRENT CONSUMPTION Currentl y, UBC uses a combi nati on of pure petro leum diesel and B5 bl end s (5% biodi esel and 95% petrol eum diesel mix ture) purc hased from Chev ron (per sonal comm unicati on with Adam McCl uske y on March 27, 2012) . Tabl e 1 summ ariz es the infor mation given b y Adam McCl uske y pertai ning to fuel requirements for 2011. Table 1 - UBC Fu el Nee ds for 2011 Fuel Type Quantity P ure Petroleum Diesel 302 , 410.31 [ L ] B5 Biodi es el Blend (5% Biodi esel and 95% Petroleum Diesel) 110 , 440.66 [ L ] Total Fuel Needs 412,850.97 [L] (407,328.94 [L] Pure Petroleum Diesel) ( P er so nal Co mmu nicatio n wit h Ad a m Mc Cl us ke y) As menti oned above in t he Economi c Anal ysis se cti on, 15 , 695.3269 [ L/ ye ar ] of biodi esel can be produ ced. This translates into a 3.9% reduction of UBC\u00E2\u0080\u0099s dependence on diesel fuels. B y increasin g its scales of producti on by pur chasin g addit ional waste greas e, thi s percenta ge reducti on could incr ease significantl y. 3. 2 CONS UMP T ION EM IS S IONS When fuel is burn ed , it releases harm ful emi ssi ons into the atm osphere. Th ese emi ssi ons contribut e to the incre asing global tempe ratur es and are tox ic. A stud y wa s done that compar es the emi ssi ons of several t yp es o f biodiesels to petr oleum diesel , which resul ts can be se en in F igu re 1 . Th e t yp e of fu el that is relevant to this report is called \u00E2\u0080\u009CUW No. 2 - 3\u00E2\u0080\u009D which is 100% biodi esel made from yell ow greas e. Page 10 of 21 Z hen g, M. , Mule nga, M. C. , Rea d er , G.T . , Wang, M. , T ing, D.S, & T jo ng, J. (200 8 ) . Biod iesel en gi ne per fo r mance and e mi ssio n s i n lo w te mp er at ur e co mb u stio n. Journal of Fuel (Guilford), 8 7 , 714 - 7 2 2 . do i:1 0 .1 0 1 6 /j . fuel. 2 0 0 7 .0 5 .0 39 Figu re 1 - Emissi on Producti on of Biodi esel and P etroleum Diesel As can be seen in Fi gu re 1 , burning biodi esel prod u ces signi ficantl y less so ot, CO , THC and compar able NO x emi ssi ons. Thus, overall , biodi esel rele ases less har mful pollut ants into the atm osphere than petroleu m diesel (Zh en g et al., 20 08). Howeve r, biodiesel is slightl y less ef ficient than petroleum diesel. The low er heati n g value of petrol eum diesel is 35.9MJ/ L and 32.7 M J /L for th e yell ow grease biodi esel (Zh en g et al., 2008). In addit ion, the fuell ing requir ement fo r diesel is 44 mg/c ycl e whil e biodi esel requires 52mg/c ycl e of fu el. This means that more biofuel is required to be c onsum ed during oper ati on (Zh en g et al., 2008 ). However , a blend of 20 % biodi esel and 80% petrol eu m diesel has 15% fewe r ca rbon diox ide emi ssi ons , reduces parti cul a te matt er emi ssi ons b y 10 %, decr eases CO emi ssi ons b y 11% and reduces unburned h yd roc ar bon emi ssi ons b y 21% (Unites States Department of E n er g y, 2011 ). Despit e requiring more fuel, biodiesel stil l has reduc ed emi ssi ons compared to pet roleum d iesel (Zhen g et al., 2008) . 3. 3 LIF ECYC LE EM IS S IO NS Lif ec ycl e emi ssi ons enco mpasses all emi ssi ons pr oduced in the ex ist ence of a product, including producti on, tr a nsportati on, consum pti on, disposal, and stora ge. Based on a 30 year lifec ycle, the greenhous e gas emi ssi ons produced by usin g biodi esel are ap prox im atel y 86 % less than those produced fro m the use of petroleum d iesel (Barnett , 2010). Th ere are sev er al stages in the producti on of both fu els that releas e greenhou se gasses . Fo r petroleum diesel, each st ep in Page 11 of 21 the process , described in the Int roducti on Secti on , is ener g y int ensive and poll uti ng (as can be seen in Fi gur e 2 below) . Furthermo re , petrol eum diesel would be requir ed to be transported to UBC as opposed to bein g produced on campus . Th is adds to the tot al emis sions creat ed b y using petroleum diesel. Biodi e sel , on the other hand, pr oduce s much less emis sions during combus ti on compared to dies el as can be seen in Figu re 2 . The majorit y of its emis sions come from producin g the fuel ( U.S. En vironmental Protecti on Agenc y, 2009) . U. S. Envir o n me ntal Pro tectio n Age nc y. (2 0 0 9 ). EPA lifecycle analysis of greenhouse gas emissions from renewable fuels. (EP A - 4 2 0 - F - 0 9 - 0 2 4 ) . Retr ieved fro m http :// www. ep a. go v/o taq /r ene wab le f uels/4 2 0 f 0 9 0 24 . p d f Figu re 2 \u00E2\u0080\u0093N et Li fec yc le Greenhous e Gas Emi ssi ons As shown in Figure 2 , bi odiesel and petroleum di esel have compar able em iss ions produced durin g their res pecti ve manuf acturin g pr ocess es . 3. 4 HEA LTH EFFECTS Using biodi esel has been shown to reduce healt h ri sks as well . P ol yc ycli c aromati c hydro carbons are found t o be reduc ed b y 75% to 8 5% and nit rated pol yc yc l ic aromati c hydro carbons are found t o be reduc ed b y app rox imatel y 50% when usin g biodi esel instead of petroleum diesel (Nati onal Biodi esel Board, 2007 ) . These subst an ces are cancer causin g compounds (Nati onal Bi odiesel Boa rd, 2007 ) . Page 12 of 21 Gener all y, b iodi es el, co mpared to petroleum dies el, has less environmenta l impact, reduced healt h risks and i s more sust ainable. Even if a leak were to o ccur, biodi esel bio degrades and would not harm the environment, where as petr oleum diesel would caus e detrimental environmental ef fects ( N ati onal Biodi esel Board, 2011 ). In addit ion, despit e havin g less ene r g y content, biodi esel produc es few er emi ssi ons than petroleum diesel durin g combus ti on. If UBC ex panded its scales of pr oducti on by pur chasin g waste grease, and also re duce d the emi ssi ons produced durin g the m an ufacturin g of the biodi es el, it could reduce its dep endenc e on harmful resourc es even further. In ever y envi ronmental as pect, biodiesel is eit her comparable to or much less harmful than petrole um diesel. Page 13 of 21 4.0 SOCIAL ANALYSIS Understandin g the social impact of transit ioni ng fr om tradit ional diesel to biodi esel is a major factor to be consi d ered wh en recomm endin g thi s project. This transi ti on ma y provide certain soci al chall en ges as the pro gram is implem ented. By tr yin g to unde rstand the social impact that this change might cause no w, proble ms which ma y arise unde r the pro gressi on of th e transit ion might be avoid ed. In a surve y conducted b y the Nati onal Biodi es el Board in 2010 (Biodi esel Magaz ine, 2010), it was found that 52% of those surve ye d had a posi ti ve impressi on of biodi esel, whil e 37% had no opini on ( see Figu re 3 b e l o w ). 7% di d not know whether biodi e sel was posi ti ve or negati ve and just 4% of t hose awa re of biodies el thought ne gati vel y of it. This is all in light of the fact that onl y 76% of the populati on is aware of biodiesel. B io d iesel Magaz ine. (2 0 1 0 ) . Annual sur ve y sho ws p ub lic op inio n of bio d iesel po siti ve, but so ft. Retr ieved fro m http :// www. b io d iesel ma gaz i ne . co m/ar t icles/4 5 5 1 /ann ual - s ur ve y - sho ws - p ub lic - o p in io n - o f - b io d iesel -p o sitive - b ut - so ft Figu re 3 \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Biodi esel Sur ve y Result s Whil e thi s surve y was pe rformed across the Uni te d States of America, giv e n the environmentall y - conscio us cult ure of the Great er Vancouve r ar ea, it is reasonable to appl y the same data to UBC. If an yt hin g, the result s ma y be conserv ati ve when appl ied to the UBC comm unit y. This overall posi ti ve reacti on is a gre at first step when an al yz i ng the so cial impact that the transition to biodiesel might have on UBC\u00E2\u0080\u0099s framework. The second aspect of th e social impact is to investi gat e the impact that the grease coll ecti on might impos e on the indivi duals involv ed in the process o f prod ucing the biodies el (U.S . Department o f Ene rg y, 2004 ). The fi rst ini tial benefit is that biodiese l does not contain an y haz ardous materials but s hould be treated wit h the same pre cauti on s as regu lar diesel. The food service wo rke rs are curr e ntl y requir ed to remove the waste gr ease from the trap, so this task will Page 14 of 21 not be in addit ion to their current dut ies. The coll e cti on of the waste gr eas e is also ongoin g, so thi s too will not provide an y chan ge in curr ent act ivi ti es. The onl y addit ional duti es will consi st of those specifically employed to produce the biodiesel, reducing the direct impact on UBC\u00E2\u0080\u0099s empl o ye es. Finall y, th e end use must be assessed. Th e vehicl es on campus th at wil l co nvert to usi ng biodi esel will have some alt er nati ve mainten ance needs. This will int roduce an addit ional task for the maintenance employees who keep UBC\u00E2\u0080\u0099s vehicles running in good condition. Training will need to be provided on how to maintain the vehicles usi ng biodi es el as there can be some diffe rent cleanin g iss ues, such as sludge buil d up, that will need to be addr e ssed on a regul ar basis . Biodi esel blends u nder 20% can be dist ribu ted in the same method as standard diesel, eli mi nati ng the need for s pecializ ed dist ributi on s ystems (U.S . Departme nt of Ener g y, 2004). Understandin g these iss u es will be necess ar y in or der to ensure th e succ ess of the biodiesel transit ion. In addit ion to all thi s, it should be noted that there are stand ards involved in the producti on of biodi esel, the ASTM D 6751 st anda rd wil l serve as a good guideline for the producti on at UBC (Can ada Clean Fuels, 2005). This standard provides th e minim um accepted values for the properties of the fuel to provide ade quate sati sfacti on and pr otecti on. By following the laid out AS TM standard, prop er trou ble free oper ati on can be assured. How ever, man y en gine wa rranti es ma y be voided b y the co nversion to biodiesel. Given this fact, it ma y be advisable to onl y convert those vehicles which are no longe r under warr ant y in orde r to redu c e possi ble cost should a compl icati on occur. Biodi esel has gath ered a gr eat de al of att enti on in recent ye ars, most of whi ch is posi ti ve. The public\u00E2\u0080\u0099s positive perception of biodiesel will only enhance the posi ti ve publi c percepti on of UBC shoul d it choo se to transit ion to thi s new fuel supp l y. Given that biodi esel can be used in the same vehicle s ystems as tradit ional diesel, ma n y of the potential drawb acks are ne gated. Page 15 of 21 5.0 CONCLUSION UBC is a plac e that hono urs its name by conti nuousl y chall en gin g the no r m and workin g for a bett e r tomorrow. In thi s project , UBC is pro posi ng to redu ce the emi ssi ons produced b y the man y vehicles owned b y the universit y . To ex tend this , UBC has propose d to use waste gr ease that the campus food se r vices pr oduc e to convert to fuel for their vehicles , ult im atel y re c ycli n g a valuable resou rce th at wa s once consi de red waste. After care ful consi der ati on of the three specific pa ramete rs of a triple bott om line assessment, thi s report has come to a conclusi on and provides recomm end ati ons for the implementation of thi s potenti al project. Based on th e findi ngs in the economi c an al ysis , th e data su ggests that sell in g the waste gr ease th at UBC produ ce s and purchasin g petrole um diesel is more econo mi call y ben eficial . Howeve r , thi s is based on assum pti ons about the market for thi s t ype of material which ma y chan ge in the futu re. One recomm end ati on to enh ance feasib il it y is to obt a in donations and gr ants to reduc e the capit al cost. An other opti on for reducin g cost might be to encoura ge biodi esel student - based projects in which the stude nts get involved in buil ding a biodi es el transesterfi cati on plant at UBC. This would not onl y lower capit al costs bu t would gr eatl y increas e the studen ts\u00E2\u0080\u0099 aw areness in UBC\u00E2\u0080\u0099s green agenda. Lowe rin g the cap it al cost of a lar ge project such as thi s woul d gr eatl y improve the fin ancial feasibi li t y of creati ng and usin g biodi esel at UBC. UBC has man y r esources and sourc es of funding; the economi c drawbacks of thi s project are ther efor e somewhat mini mi z ed from the lar ge r persp ecti ve . The environmental aspec t of the tripl e bott om line assessment is a ver y imp ortant aspect of thi s report. UBC is a campus that is strivi ng fo r 100% redu cti on in gr ee nhouse gas emi ssi ons by 2050 , acco rding to Alberto Cayuela\u00E2\u0080\u0099s presentation on March 6, 2012 . This project i s a step to wards obtaining thi s go al. When comparin g the life c ycle emi ssi ons of biodi esel to those of petroleum diesel , ther e is a n 8 6% redu cti on in har mful emi ssi ons (Barnett , 2010) . This includes producti on, transportati o n, consum pti on, disposal, and stora ge . A recomm endati on would be to address the emi ssi ons pr oduced b y a tr ansesterifi cati on plant. Lo w er in g t hese emi ssi ons would significantl y incr eas e the reducti on in emis sions and would add furthe r support for the use of biodi esel at UBC. B iodiesel reduces UBC\u00E2\u0080\u0099s environmental impact, reduces health risks and is more sust ainable compa r ed to petroleum diesel. Page 16 of 21 Finall y, th e social asp ect of the tripl e bo tt om line assessment also supports the project . The awa ren ess of sust ain abil it y and the strivin g fo r a healt h y futur e for ou r environment is not sim pl y a UBC facult y agenda; it i s also one that is widel y support ed and ch erished b y the UBC societ y, includi n g studen ts, residents and fa cult y members . The poll resul ts from a surve y conducted b y The Nati on al Biodi esel in 2010 sho ws that biodi esel is thou ght of posi ti ve l y . UBC has alre ad y re ceived wid e reco gnit ion for its le ade rship in accel erati n g sust ainable pra cti ces through the C IRS Buil di ng. It has become a poin t of pride for UBC stude nts to be a part of a global movement fo r a healt h y , sust ain able schoo l. The social aspe ct is mos t impacted b y the decisi on to use and produc e biodi esel. Accordin g to Ad am McCl uske y, UBC has 47 dies el vehicles which mak e up approx im atel y 20% of its fleet . UBC can sav e 3.9% of its ex pendit ure on thi s 20% of vehicles and reduc e their petroleum diesel consum pti on by 3.7%. At thi s point in time, this translat es to a small effe ct environmentall y and eco nomi call y, alt hou gh stil l beneficial with the potent ial for incre ased benefits in the future. One re comm endati on wo uld be to ex clude those vehicles stil l under war ran t y from the conversion pro cess to av oid an y ir reve rsible costs if there are an y compl ica ti ons. Another recomm endati on is to use a B20 bl end (20% biod iesel, 95% petroleum die sel mixt ure). This will sti ll have gr eat environm ental benefits, but it would also make implementat ion simpl er and sim il ar to p etroleum diesel. Biodi esel, as view ed b y t he three s ecti ons of th e tr ipl e bott om line assessment, is the future for UBC. It is fina nciall y feasibl e with a lit tl e help and cr eati vit y, it i s a step towards a compl ete l y emi ssi on - fre e campus , and it is a poi nt of pride and great opport unit y for UBC staf f , students and the surroun ding comm unit y. This pr oject has been ca refull y evaluated and it is recomm ended th at it proceed s . Page 17 of 21 REFERENCES Barn ett , M. O. (2010, J une 16). Bio fuels and Greenhouse Gas Emi ssi ons: Green or Red? Environmental Science and Technology , 44 (14), pp. 5330 - 5331. Biodiesel basics-biodiesel.org . (2012). Retrieved from http:/ /www.biodi esel.org/hom e Biodi esel Ma gaz ine. (2 0 10). Annual surve y show s publ ic opinion of biodiesel posi ti ve, but soft. Retrieved from http: // ww w.biodieselm agaz ine.co m/ articles/455 1/annual - s urve y - shows -publi c - opini on - of - biodi e sel - posi ti ve - but - soft Canada Clean Fuels. (20 05). Standards and War ra nti es. Retrieved from htt p:/ /www.canada cleanf uels.com/ standardsandw arranti es.ht ml Canakci, M. (2005). Th e potential of restaur ant wa ste lipids as biodi esel fee dstocks. Bioresource Technology. Retrieved from htt p:/ /seniordesign.en gr.u idaho.edu/2007_2008/ fre nchfr yfu el/ Biodi esel%20 from%20W VO%20Must afa %20Canak ci.pdf C ircle Biodi esel & Ethan ol Corporati on. (2012). Biodiesel Processors and Biodiesel Plants. Retrieved from htt p:/ /www.circlebio.co m/ biodi esel_processo rs_ biodi esel_pl ants.ht m? gcli d=C KK297m -9K4CFasERQodeA IGH w Hunter, L. (2006, Ap ril 1). Yell ow Gr ease, Liqui d Gold: Markets for rec ycl ed waste food oil . Solid Waste and Recycling. Retrieved from http: // www.soli dwastema g.co m/ news/ yell ow -gr ease - li quid - gold/ 10002 03478/ Page 18 of 21 J arlett , B. (2002). Cars Ok on Biodiesel. Retrieved from htt p:/ /www.biodi eselfill ingstatio ns.co.uk/approv a ls.ht m Morrow, F. (2008, J une 18). Fr ench - fr y gr ease to liqui d gold. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from http: // www.bcca. co op/news/frenc h - fr y - gre as e - li quid - gold Nati onal Biodi esel Boa rd . (2007 ). Biodiesel Emissions . Retrieved from htt p:/ /www.biodi esel.org/docs/ffs - basics/emis sions - fact - sh eet.pdf? sfvrsn=4 Nati onal Bi odiesel Boa rd . (2011). Environmental Benefits . Retrieved from htt p:/ /www.biodi esel.org/docs/ffs - healt h_envi ron ment/environmental -benefits.pdf? sfvrsn=4 Nati onal Biodi esel Boa rd . (2012 ). Biodiesel Basics . Retrieved from htt p:/ /www.biodi esel.org/what - i s - biodi esel/ biodi esel - basics OilP rice.com. (2012). What is Crude Oil?-A Detailed Explanation on this Essential Fossil Fuel. Retrieved from htt p:/ /oi lprice.com/ Ene r g y/C rud e - Oil/ W hat - i s - C rude - Oil - A - Detailed -Ex planati on - on - thi s - Essenti al - Fossi l - Fuel.ht ml Radich, A. (2004). Biodiesel Performance, Costs, and Use . Retrieved from htt p:/ /www.eia.gov/oi af/ anal ysis p aper/biodi esel/ S andh ya rani, N. (2011 ). How is diesel fuel made . Retrieved from htt p:/ /www.buzz le.com/ articles/how - i s - diesel - fuel - made.htm l United States Departmen t of Ener g y. (2011, Octo ber 20). Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicle Data Center: Biodiesel Benefits. Retrieved from htt p:/ /www.afdc.ene r g y. gov/afd c/fuels/ biodi esel_ benef it s.ht ml Page 19 of 21 United States Departmen t of Ener g y and the Unite d States Environmental Protecti on Agenc y. (2012, Feb ruar y 14 ). Biodiesel. Retrieved from Fu elEconom y. gov: htt p:/ /www.fueleconom y.gov/fe g/bi odies el.sht ml U.S. Department of En er g y. (2004 ). BIOD IESE L H andli ng and Use Guid eli nes. (Report #:DOE/GO - 102004 - 1999 ) Retrieved from: htt p:/ /www.canada cleanf uels.com/ pdfs/tp36182.pdf U.S. Envi ronmental Protecti on Agenc y. (2009). EPA lifecycle analysis of greenhouse gas emissions from renewable fuels. (EPA - 420 - F - 09 - 0 24). Retrieved from htt p:/ /www.epa.gov/ot aq/ renew ablefu els/ 420f09024.pdf Zhen g, M., Mul en ga, M. C., Reader, G.T., Wan g, M., Ting, D.S, & Tjong, J . (2008). Biodi esel engin e per formanc e and emi ssi ons in low temperature combus ti on. Journal of Fuel (Guilford),87, 714 - 722. doi: 10.1016/j .fuel.2007.05.039 Page 20 of 21 APPENDIX A - ECONOMIC DATA This section provides the information used to assess the biodiesel project\u00E2\u0080\u0099s economic feasibi li t y. It includes th e calcul ati ons used to obtain the amount of fuel UBC could produc e on campus , information pert aini ng to costs of produ ci ng biodi esel and has a descriptio n of the capit al investm ents. A.1 CA LC U LA T ION OF B IOD IESE L PRODU C T IO N FOR UBC The foll owing is the proc ess used to calculat e the amount of biodiesel that UBC could produce pe r ye ar: Therefo re, A.2 THE COST OF PRO DUC ING BIOD IESE L FROM 2004 TO 2012 Table 2 ( Radich , 2004 ) shows the cost of produci ng biodi esel ove r the past 8 years. Table 2 \u00E2\u0080\u0093 Cost of Produc ing Biodi es el Market Year Cost of Production [$/Gal] Cost of Production [$/L] 2004/05 1.41 0.37 2005/06 1.39 0.37 2006/07 1.38 0.36 2007/08 1.37 0.36 2008/09 1.40 0.37 2009/10 1.42 0.38 2010/11 1.47 0.39 2011/12 1.51 0.40 2012/13 1.55 0.41 Average 1.43 0.38 Ad ap ted fro m ( Rad ic h , 20 0 4 ) The ave ra ge cost is $0.38/ L to produc e biodi esel. Page 21 of 21 A.3 CAP ITA L COSTS One suppl ier whose prici ng inform ati on was avail able was Circle Biodi esel & Ethanol Corporati on. Their webs it e claims that a system costs $195 , 000 and includes the foll owing ( Circle Biodi es el & Et ha nol Corporati on , 2012) : \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 Ex plosi on proof wiring \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 Transesteri ficati on unit \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 R eactor pumps \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 P remi x ing container for catal yst \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 Thermocouples \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 Meterin g valves \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 Flui d pumps \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 C ontrol panel \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 C entrifuge \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 Methanol recov er y s yste m \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 W ires and cables \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 Oil heati ng uni ts \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 Fil trati on unit s \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 Automatic locking ball valves \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 Float swit ches \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 Flow meters \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 Skid mounted on 5\u00E2\u0080\u0099 x 10\u00E2\u0080\u0099 frame \u00EF\u0082\u00B7 Install ati on and s etup Accordin g to their websit e, their proc essor produ c es biodiesel that meets the ASTM D - 6751 specificati on and th e biodi es el processo rs meet th e M IL - S TD - 1472 require ments ( Circle Biodi esel & Ethanol Cor porati on , 2012). In addit ion, i ts \u00E2\u0080\u009Ccapacity is 450 gallons of biodiesel fuel per batch wit h ea ch batch takin g three hou rs fort y - five minutes\u00E2\u0080\u009D ( C ircl e Biodi esel & Ethanol Corporati on , 2012). Acc ording to the calculati ons above, 15 , 695.3269 litre s (4 , 146.26672 gall ons) can be produced per yea r. This will resul t in approx im atel y 10 batches per ye ar. "@en . "Report"@en . "10.14288/1.0108571"@en . "eng"@en . "Unreviewed"@en . "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en . "Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada"@en . "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/"@en . "Undergraduate"@en . "University of British Columbia. APSC 262"@en . "UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report"@en . "An investigation into the feasibility of producing and using biodiesel from waste grease at UBC"@en . "Text"@en . "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/48468"@en .