Biofuel activity revs upb

By Iain MacIntyre

A range of biofuel initiatives are progressing or being planned around the country as Parliament considers the Biofuel Bill that proposes biofuels contribute 0.5 percent of current petrol and diesel sales increasing to 2.5 percent by 2012.

One of the first local freight modes to begin trialling biofuel was rail, with the-then Toll Rail (now KiwiRail) announcing a partnership with Shell late last year. The trial, which is expected to be evaluated at the end of 2008, entails a 5 percent biodiesel and 95 percent regular diesel mix being used in one mainline locomotive and one SA/SD passenger train.

KiwiRail group general manager Joe Garbellini says this initiative, which has required no engine modification, follows on from the organisation’s successful locomotive driver fuel saver programme. “The next step is to look at biofuels and see if they are going to be appropriate to run in our equipment and, if so, what impact that will have on our engines; we’ll monitor what level of emissions that might save,” he says.

Mr Garbellini says KiwiRail, which uses over 50 million litres of diesel a year, will consider expanding the use of biofuel across its entire 165-locomotive fleet if the trial proves successful. Moving to a greater percentage of biofuel in the mix is also a possibility.

Biofuel in the air

On the airline front, Air New Zealand airline operations general manager Captain David Morgan says his company is about to test biofuel in one of the four engines on a Boeing 747-400 aircraft. Engine manufacturer Rolls Royce has tested the fuel, which is a 50-50 blend of biofuel, refined from the jatropha curcas plant, and standard Jet A1 fuel.

STOP PRESS: Biofuel Test Flight Postponed 1 December 2008

Air New Zealand advises that it is postponing its biofuel test flight which was due to take place on Wednesday 3 December, and also the pre-flight briefing on Tuesday 2 December, to early January 2009. The full efforts and resources of Air New Zealand will be focused over the coming days on providing support to the family members of the missing New Zealanders and to our people, and assisting in the investigation of the A320 accident in France. We will advise of the new date for the biofuel test flight later in the week.

The test flight is a joint initiative between Air New Zealand, Boeing, Rolls-Royce and UOP, a Honeywell company, in commercial aviation’s drive for more sustainable air travel for future generations.

The jatropha oil Air New Zealand has sourced and refined for its test flight comes from South Eastern Africa (Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania).

Captain Morgan says the biofuel test flight is an important milestone in Air New Zealand’s journey towards becoming the world’s most environmentally sustainable airline. By 2013, the airline expects to use at least one million barrels of environmentally sustainable fuel annually, meeting at least 10 percent of its total annual needs.

Biofuel at sea

Pacifica Shipping chief executive Rod Grout says his company is about to test biofuels in its fleet of portside cargo handling vehicles. Diesel-powered container carriers and loading tugs will be tested with a 5 percent mixture of biofuel rising to 50 percent or greater if the trials prove successful.

“These vehicles have standard diesel engine technology with no advanced electronic controls, so we expect to be able to substitute a reasonable volume of imported fuel with renewable energy,” he says. “However, in the case of our ships, which run on heavier bunker fuel, we have to determine exactly what types of biofuel and ratios are workable in the long term before testing them in practice. We are discussing various options with our engine manufacturers and marine service engineers before committing to any biofuel trials at sea.”

Turning to the international shipping scene, Maersk New Zealand sales planning and marketing representative Mathew Leanderson says his company is working with various partners to seek out the potential in first-generation biofuel. “We will probably run our own tests on it,” he says. “That said, we are reluctant to go for first-generation biofuel, since it is made from food. We are more interested in second-generation biofuel, but it is still not developed for large-scale use.

“So far we believe biofuel will only be able to substitute a smaller part of fossil fuel consumption. Our opinion is that biofuel might be used for vessels in ports and not for propulsion. It indicates that biofuel will only make a small contribution to our overall fuel consumption. We do, however, continually strive for improvement in terms of fuel efficiency and consumption reduction initiatives.”

Biofuel for trucks

Biofuel developments do not yet appear to be overly prevalent in the local trucking scene. Road Transport Forum New Zealand technical manager Kerry Arnold advises that some suspicions currently surround the performance of biodiesel in cold temperatures.

“Operators can’t afford to have their trucks breaking down through the fuel gelling because it is too cold. Would biodiesel be a real goer on the Desert Road?” he asks. “In Europe, fuel heaters are quite common, but they are not common in New Zealand. That is something the operators will have to combat. Our advice to members is to get approval from the vehicle supplier.”

Local production

Following the introduction of the Biofuel Bill to Parliament, Biodiesel New Zealand general manager Paul Quinn has expressed confidence about the prospects for the home-grown production industry. Producing high-quality biodiesel from used cooking oil and oilseed rape sown in rotation with other crops, the company is proceeding with development of a plant near Christchurch which will initially produce at least 15 million litres a year.

“We will be operating by early 2009, in time to process oil from about 5000 hectares of autumn-sown oilseed rape now in the ground around the South Island,” says Mr Quinn. “That crop can be expected to result in more than seven million litres of pure biodiesel that we can sell locally.”

Contrastingly, leading UK biofuel producer Argent Energy has recently shelved plans to invest more than $100 million in a New Zealand plant. Argent Energy New Zealand managing director Dickon Posnett says the proposed Biofuel Bill makes the playing field too uneven.

“Ethanol gets a government-backed subsidy, through relief from excise duty, that amounts to 42 cents a litre,” he says. “Oil companies are being incentivised to import ethanol. That makes it utterly uneconomic to invest in the domestic biodiesel plant we were proposing to build.”

Other developments

In other developments, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority has welcomed a report which shows biomass material from purpose-grown New Zealand forests has great potential to be used as a future source of sustainable biofuels. Bioenergy Options for New Zealand has estimated that, theoretically, New Zealand has enough medium- to low-productivity grazing land – land not suitable for crop production – to plant as forests and make New Zealand self-sufficient in transport fuel.

State-owned science companies Scion and AgResearch and their research partners Carter Holt Harvey and United States-based Verenium Corporation have recently been given an $8 million grant to work towards refining ethanol from pines.

LanzaTech has also been awarded $12 million funding over three years to develop second-generation biofuel from industrial flue gas waste. The project aims to reduce gasoline use in the large number of used cars imported into New Zealand.

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BRIDGESTONE PROVIDES BANDAG RETREADS IN NZ - BETTER FOR YOUR BOTTOM LINE 

In yet another exciting milestone for Bridgestone New Zealand, the organisation has formally announced the installation of new equipment converting three factories to Bandag cold-press retreading.

This will result in further improvements in processing, tyre preparation and tread adhesion for the benefit of the country’s entire trucking industry.   

Bandag is a leading manufacturer of cold process retread products which are renowned for long life and outstanding performance, and are now proudly Kiwi made specifically for New Zealand’s unique road conditions. 

Bridgestone’s three retread outlets in Auckland, Rotorua and Christchurch have been refitted with state-of-the-art Bandag retread equipment and the current retread process systems will be streamlined. 

The Bandag Incorporated acquisition last year has enabled Bridgestone to provide a new tyre and retread combination to the market and deliver the best possible results for their customers, coupled with enhanced levels of tyre retread quality and service. 

“Not only is Bandag the premium retread brand in the world, it’s synonymous with keeping trucks rolling by creating and delivering the best products, services and solutions that are safe, reliable and affordable,” says John Staples, Bridgestone New Zealand’s General Manager Sales and Marketing. 

“We know that heat can have a detrimental effect on rubber and tyres. The Bandag cold process, along with its high quality pre-cured rubber, helps combat this problem,” he adds. 

“Furthermore, retreads have the benefit of being far more cost-effective than new tyres which is great news for consumers who now have more choice than ever in what is clearly a challenging economic climate.  And the Bandag retread process is considerably better for the environment, as it breathes new life into old tyres and uses a significantly lower amount of energy in the production process.” 

This latest development represents a significant capital investment for Bridgestone New Zealand and enables it to enhance the already high level of service and technology delivered to customers. 

”We’re really proud to be a New Zealand manufacturer that now also provides locally produced Bandag retreads to support New Zealand fleet vehicles,” concludes John Staples.
 

About Bridgestone New Zealand:  

Bridgestone New Zealand was formed in September 1998. The formation of the company followed the merger of two of New Zealand's largest tyre companies: Bridgestone and Firestone. It is the leading tyre manufacturer and retailer in New Zealand, selling tyres under both the 'Bridgestone' and 'Firestone' brands. Tyres are sold and serviced through Firestone outlets and Bridgestone Authorised Dealers. There are currently over 200 retail outlets throughout the country which sell and service Bridgestone and Firestone tyres.

For more information on Bridgestone New Zealand please visit:

www.bridgestone.co.nz

www.firestone.co.nz

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