Canada: one in Brooks and one in High River.” The proximity to two plants would allow Kyoto Fuels to play on both, which it was assumed must happen to obtain the best price for feedstock for the plant. The proximity to the Canada-U.S. border also was a factor since the company understood that the American biodiesel market could have a potentially significant role in its operation. The next hurdle to overcome was funding. Through a campaign to get local investors on board, Kyoto Fuels was able to raise close to $20 million, approximately half of the overall project cost, and enough to get the preliminary stages of the plant off the ground. The government of Alberta also came through with $10 million in grants, and the remaining money was obtained through major lenders. Construction of the plant involved a partnership with Seattle-based Primus Biovision, which helped Kyoto Fuels design and assemble the plant using Kyoto’s biodiesel technology. The company hired Integrated Industrial Solutions (IIS) of Forest, Ont., to operate the plant and manage Kyoto’s 30 employees contracted through IIS. focus on production With all elements of the operation in place and construction of the Lethbridge plant completed, Kyoto Fuels is finally able to focus on the core of its business: producing high-quality biodiesel. Based on the early results from Kyoto Fuels’ early testing, the company expected the commissioning of the plant, which began with the late September start of production, to last only six weeks. Surprisingly, even the early batches produced were at a high enough quality to be sold commercially. Part of the reason for such a short commissioning phase for Kyoto Fuels is that many of the improvements to the process were integrated during the construction phase. That created some delays in the original construction, but building in those improvements during the original construction is now seen as beneficial to the commissioning process. As a result, the company believes that it will be at full production by the end of 2013. The biodiesel being produced at the plant is meeting the ASTM+ standard for biodiesel, higher than the ASTM standard expected in much of the North American market. According the Prenevost, “that is the buyer expectation in Canada, ASTM+, not ASTM like in the U.S. We have demonstrated that we can meet that standard during test runs. Also, producing ASTM+ allows access to all North American markets.” Currently, Kyoto Fuels is meeting that standard by using vegetable oils for feedstock. The Kyoto Fuels plant was built to be able to process multiple feedstocks, including vegetable oils and animal fats. The decision was made to start by using vegetable oils, mainly canola oils, for several factors, including the abundance of canola oil sources available. “We have been buying canola oil from various suppliers,” says Prenevost. “There is lots of availability this year thanks to a bumper crop.” The plan is that the company will eventually switch from using vegetable oils to using animal fats once its technology for producing biodiesel has been fully demonstrated at 100 per cent capacity. But the company is not likely to switch entirely to using animal fats, since some customers prefer biodiesel produced from Boiler Feed Systems Ruggedly built and dependable pneumatic and mechanical boiler fuel feed systems by Jeffrey Rader ® , a brand of TerraSource ™ Global, combine the best of our storage, reclaim, conveying, and feeding equipment. We work closely with our customers to ensure that our designs meet the storage, metering, and feed rate requirements of the boiler, whether it’s feeding 100% biomass or co-firing biomass with coal. Phone: (864) 476-7523 Email: [email protected] Web: www.terrasource.com Handling a World of Materials The brands comprising TerraSource™ Global (Gundlach Crushers, Jeffrey Rader, and Pennsylvania Crusher) are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE: HI) © 2013 TerraSource™ Global. All Rights Reserved. Canadian BIOMASS 17
Canadian Biomass November/December 2013: Page 17
