27/09/2007 (Cayman Net News Online) - The use of biodiesel is increasing in the Cayman Islands. With further environmentally friendly initiatives in the works and not content with selling imported biodiesel, Larry Bang of Cayman Biofuels is setting out to produce it locally.

Also called “liquid solar energy”, biodiesel is becoming increasingly popular worldwide. “The biggest thing going for biodiesel is that it is renewable energy,” Mr Bang said. “It’s sustainable. It’s made from oil from plants such as rape seed, soy, palm oil.” Mr Bang has begun to collect waste cooking oil from Cayman’s restaurants, which was previously sent to the landfill.

In other parts of the world, cruise ships have been receptive to giving their waste cooking oil to be converted to biodiesel, and Mr Bang has met with one of the cruise ships towards that goal. The oil will be processed at the facility being built, and will be turned into biodiesel that will be sold in Cayman. There are presently no retail outlets for biodiesel in Cayman.

The biodiesel presently delivered by Cayman Biofuels is a blend containing 5-20% biodiesel mixed with regular diesel, although the proportions can be customised as required. The fuel is ideal for cars, buses, boats, heavy equipment, trucks, and almost any diesel engine. Cayman Biofuels also delivers regular diesel.

The new facility will process waste cooking oil using a chemical process. By-products and waste from the process will be easily disposed of locally and cause no environmental issues. The biodiesel produced will be virtually sulphur-free high quality product.

According to Mr Bang, there are many reasons for using biodiesel. It is a cleaner burning fuel with improved lubricity and substantially less soot emissions. Other factors contributing to its popularity include better mileage, cheaper repair costs and overall lower operating costs per mile than when using regular diesel, according to an American study that followed a fleet of city buses for a year. With a higher flashpoint than regular diesel, biodiesel is safer to transport, handle and use, added to which is the price, which is competitive with that of regular diesel here.

These findings were echoed by Stephen Houghton, Senior Motor Technician at Vampt Motors, “Biodiesel is oil-based, it lubricates the injectors and engine much better, keeps the fuel system clean and as a result the engine runs much more efficiently,” he said, adding that this contributed to a much better fuel economy. “The regular diesel here contains much more sulphur than in the US. The exhaust system gets clogged up because of the carbon deposits created by the burning of the sulphur.”

Mr Houghton remarked that the reason diesel engines, such as those on taxi buses here emit black smoke, is due to the high levels of sulphur in the diesel. Esso Country Manager, Alan Neesome said sulphur levels in diesel provided by Esso ranges between 1400 and 5000 ppm.

According to Mr Houghton, diesel cars that have previously been emitting black smoke generally show less smoke within ten minutes after injecting biodiesel fuel. The product appears to reduce smoke emissions and produce an odour similar to French fries, he indicated.

Finally, most diesel engines can use the biodiesel blend without engine modifications. Some vehicle companies on the island have made an effort to go the modern, environmental way. “Since 2004, Toyota has not sold diesel vehicles here,” Mr Houghton said. “Ford has also stopped selling diesel cars in Cayman, in 2007.” On the issue of modifications to the engine, he added, “We are running vehicles straight from the manufacturer on biodiesel with no modifications at all.”

Caribbean Marine Services is the company responsible for the tenders that transport cruise ship passengers to and from the ships. According to Operations Manager David Carmichael, “Biodiesel is a clean fuel product. It burns cleanly, creates less smoke, it’s better for the engines, but the smell is the best reason. We don’t get the choking smell that we get from regular diesel.

“Our crews are happier, our passengers are happier. We use it mainly in our 18 tenders. No modifications were required, but our tenders are equipped with modern diesel engines anyway. We have had no adverse effects so far. It’s very simple. Stick it in, turn the key and go!”

The biggest downside of biodiesel is that it will tend to coagulate in cold weather, a non-issue here in Cayman. Older cars may however need to have new fuel lines. And in Mr Bang’s experience, “The tremendous cleaning action of biodiesel may cause crud accumulated in the fuel lines and fuel tank to clog the fuel filter, so you may need to change your fuel filters often in the beginning. Once the system is clean, its okay.”