Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Canola/rapeseed is successfully grown in the cooler agricultural regions and also as a winter crop
in temperate climates of Europe. Based on this climatic adaptability, substantial production of
canola/rapeseed occurs in China, India, parts of the United States, Canada, northern Europe, and
Australia. In recent years, China has been the leading producer of canola/rapeseed oil, accounting
for 22% of the total world production of 20,330 thousand metric tons during 2008/2009 (USDA
Foreign Agriculture Service 2009). India, Canada, Japan, and the countries of European Union are
among the other leading canola/rapeseed oil producers, representing 11, 9, 4, and 41% of the total
production, respectively. Accordingly, a common choice of feedstock for the production of biodiesel
in these countries is rapeseed and/or canola, especially in the European Union and Canada. A report/
data of the year 2005 (World Biodiesel Production) indicated that 13 countries (Germany, France,
United States, Italy, Czech Republic, Austria, Spain, Denmark, Poland, the United Kingdom, Brazil,
Australia, and Sweden) produced 97% of the 3,762 million L of biodiesel production in the world, with
major contributions coming from Germany (51%), France (15%), United States (8%), and Italy (6%).
Except for the United States, where the main feedstock for production is soybean, most countries
listed above used canola/rapeseed as a major feedstock for the production of biodiesel (http://www.
bioenergywiki.net/index.php/Top_biodiesel_producing_countries). On the basis of 2008/2009
data (USDA Foreign Agriculture Service 2009), Canada and the European Union (EU-27) are the
major exporters of canola/rapeseed oil with annual exports of 1,350 and 150 thousand metric tons,
respectively. China was the leading importer of canola/rapeseed oil during 2008/2009. The choice of
suitable feedstock for the production of biodiesel will influence the global biodiesel potential (USDA
Foreign Agriculture Service 2009) and countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Argentina, and the United
States are expected to have the highest volume potential for biodiesel due to large productions/yields
of palm and soybean oil in these countries.
Canada is one of the main regions of the world where canola/rapeseed oil is likely to be renewable
energy source for the production of biodiesel. The major options for feedstocks to produce biodiesel
in Canada presently include canola/rapeseed, flaxseed, tallow or soybean. However, based on
current production levels, availability and market stability, canola/rapeseed appears to be the most
favorable feedstock to meet the demands for biodiesel. The demand for biodiesel in Canada is
expected to increase based on the Canadian government's target to use 2% biodiesel as a renewable
fuel content in all diesel fuel sold in the country by the year 2010. Therefore, current biodiesel
production in the country (240 million L) is expected to rise to approximately 500 million L by
2012 if the requirement for B2 is reached. These targets can be met considering canola as one of the
major oil seeds grown in Canada, covering approximately 6,000 million ha of land in 2007/2008
and produced approximately 10 million t of seed (http://www.canola-council.org). Roughly 0.370
tons of oil can be produced from 1 ton of canola/rapeseed seed. If 10% of the total canola/rapeseed
production in Canada is dedicated to producing biodiesel, there is a potential to produce over
4 billion L of biodiesel from the currently available canola/rapeseed feedstock. Of the eight biodiesel
production plants in Canada, three, including Topia Energy Inc., Milligan BioTech, and Rothsay,
use canola as a feedstock (www.countyofnewell.ab.ca/pdf/economicdev/biodiesel_production_in_
the_county_of_newell.pdf). Dominion Energy Services, LLC is listed as no. 3 among the 12 largest
biofuel plants in the world (Ooko 2008) and has a $400 million integrated biodiesel and ethanol
refinery in Innisfail, Alberta, Canada. The biofuel plant has a 100 million gal biodiesel production
capacity, and will use approximately 900,000 t of canola per year as raw material for feedstock. In
contrast to Canada, canola/rapeseed is a minor feedstock for bioenergy or biodiesel production in
the United States because 80% of the biodiesel is produced from soybean and sunflower oil. North
Dakota is the major producer of canola/rapeseed in the United States, which contributes 90% of the
total 1.5 billion pounds of rapeseed used for biodiesel (http://www.biodiesel.org). However, there
is an interest in several states (Idaho, Montana, and Colorado) to grow rapeseed as a high yielding
feedstock for the production of biodiesel (http://www.canola-council.org).
The countries of the European Union (EU) represent a model for the use of canola/rapeseed as a
source of energy as reflected by the large scale application and production of biodiesel from canola/
