Could leftover canola be the next fuel to heat homes?
Global News
Ajay Dalai has spent over five years researching the feasibility of turning leftover materials from crop production into biofuel.
A researcher at the University of Saskatchewan believes canola meal pellets could be an eco-friendly alternative to both coal and natural gas for heat and energy.
Ajay Dalai has spent over five years researching the feasibility of turning leftover materials from crop production into biofuel.
He is now ready to produce the pellets on a large scale to test their consistency.
“Eventually, the world is going to phase out coal because of pollution,” said Dalia, Canada Research Chair in Bio-energy and Environmentally Friendly Chemical Processing at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Engineering.
“The potential of using biomass to bioenergy is enormous and exciting.”
Dalai said the incentive to develop the technology came from the agriculture material available in Saskatchewan, particularly canola.
He said canola oil extraction typically leaves behind roughly 60 per cent of its original weight in meal.
Some is exported, and roughly 40 per cent is fed to livestock. Dalai sees the remainder being used as biofuel.