New Liquid Biofuel for Home Heating Shows Great Promise in Field Trials
Field trials for a new biofuel for heating and cooking, have been hailed a success.
The Oil Firing Technical Association (OFTEC) says that the trials demonstrate that the new fuel could significantly reduce carbon emissions from the 1.8 million households currently using oil and revolutionise the oil heating industry in the UK and Ireland.
The trials have been conducted by OFTEC in partnership with the Low Carbon Innovation Centre / the University of East Anglia, ICOM Energy Association, and industry partners. They tested fuels which blended either 30% or 50% of the bio element, fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) with either kerosene or gas-oil. The FAME was derived from used cooking oil.
The fuel that blends 30% FAME with 70% kerosene (B30K) has been accepted by the Government as eligible for the proposed Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). If this is introduced households converting to the fuel will receive a substantial annual payment.
B30K has a carbon emission factor of 0.205 kg CO2 per kilowatt / hour which is 28% less than that of 100% kerosene, and is similar to that of mains gas. OFTEC estimates show that if 1.1million homes in the UK switch to the B30K fuel by 2020 the CO2 savings for the UK would be 1.035 million tonnes each year.
Jeremy Hawksley Director General for OFTEC said “The 12 month field trials have been successful and the results are very encouraging. We have not experienced any oil storage issues despite periods of extreme weather; even at lows of -5° Celsius, the converted boilers showed reliability and consistent performance.”
OFTEC estimates the cost of converting an existing oil fired appliance to use the new bio heating liquid to be as low as £250.00, but that in most domestic installations a new oil tank will be required increasing the total conversion costs to around £2,000. This is far less than the cost of installing a biomass boiler or a heat pump.
Jeremy added “The option for existing oil users to switch to a liquid biofuel and kerosene blend could deliver significant carbon savings at modest cost.”
Marcus Armes of the Low Carbon Innovation Centre at UEA commented: “Turning waste material, such as used cooking oil, into a useful product for heating and cooking is a wonderful example of how to achieve sustainable living. The partnership with OFTEC has proved to be very productive and we look forward to further collaboration.”
OFTEC is planning to publish specifications for a definitive industry standard for the new bio heating liquid and will be developing technical guides and training courses for its registered technicians.