A grade 12 student at St. Anne's has converted a Ford 3000 tractor to run on biofuels.
While he admits the idea was not his own, Evan Krebs feels the use of canola and soybean oils could certainly have a future in farming.
"It pairs especially well with people who are pressing their own oilseeds on-farm for the protein meal, because then the oil left over is essentially a worthless by-product for them. The fuel is almost at zero-cost, so it's definitely something that's a good alternative for a lot of different operations."
Krebs notes the conversion of the tractor was simple.
He put a secondary tank on the front and inserted a three-way valve just before the fuel injector pump.
The Hensall native says the key was getting a heated filter with a fine mesh, which makes the viscous biofuel more combustible while removing all foreign materials.
Krebs tested a 100 per cent canola fuel and a canola-soybean mix and compared the results against regular diesel fuel.
The pure canola lost 20 per cent horse power while the mix lost only 1 per cent.
Krebs notes even with the loss in power and some torque as well, the fact that the fuel is free makes the biofuels a clear choice for those who have access to it.
His access comes from Energrow Inc. in Listowel, which sells oilseed presses to farmers and then buys back the oil to be redistributed to those who want to use it for fuel.
