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By Jaryn Vecchio

New Energy Source

Saskatchewan home to Canada’s next energy source? Provincial researcher believes so

Jan 6, 2022 | 5:00 PM

The next item to potentially heat and power your home may surprise you.

Dr. Ajay Dalai, Canada Research Chair of Bio-energy and Environmentally Friendly Chemical Processing in the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Engineering, has been looking into products that could replace coal and natural gas.

This led him to start looking at canola.

After the crop has its oil extracted, a “meal” is left behind.

The leftovers are about 60 per cent of the original crop by weight and are sometimes exported or fed to livestock, however, Dalai told paNOW it could also be used as an energy source.

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“We really don’t utilize the leftover materials for making money for our farmers or really anything.”

The main challenge right now is turning the canola meal into pellets. Dalai noted they’ve recently got the equipment needed to make this happen.

After they create the pellets, they’ll need to make sure they can be stored and transported to facilities where they can be burned to produce heat and power.

Following that, tests can start on whether the pellets can actually do the job coal and natural gas currently does.

“It’s a matter of mass-production and to see if the quality is being maintained. If moisture gets into the pellet, it can crumble and lose its mechanic strength,” Dalai added.

They also plan to look at other crops as well such as canola hull, mustard meal and hull, and oat hull.

Dalai thinks they should know whether all these crops can be a proper bio-energy source in between five to 10 years.

He added support from the federal government and energy companies, specifically to help with the technology needed to make this happen, would make this timeline realistic.

“Fossil fuels, the industry is gonna go for the next 50 to 100 years for sure. Without working together, it’s difficult to succeed.”

Economic Benefit

If canola meal becomes a possibility, it could be a big boost to Saskatchewan’s economy.

Back in 2019, Canada produced over 18 million tonnes of canola with the province accounting for around 10 million tonnes.

Saskatchewan also accounts for nearly half of Canada’s current agricultural land.

Canada remains one of the leading countries for exports, meaning all the pellets developed could be sold to international markets.

Dalai believes the appeal of it being environment-friendly would also be a big benefit, helping attract more investment.

“It would be a win-win for everyone involved… looks good and brings a lot of revenue for the people as well.”

—

Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow