But, when you learn that the canola can be turned into biodiesel, the picture becomes a little clearer.

Milligan Bio-Tech Inc., a company located in the heart of canola country at Foam Lake, Sask., has accomplished that transition, producing a fuel that`s 100 per cent biodiesel. That`s in contrast to other biodiesel fuels which use as much as 95 per cent petroleum diesel.

The company began exploring the possibility of developing biodiesel in the 1990s and started production in 2001.

The 2007 Corvette jet funny car provides an illustration of canola biodiesel`s potential. Driven by Kevin Therres, the car, which was at Castrol Raceway recently for Hot August Nights, rockets down the drag strip from the thrust provided by a J60 Pratt and Whitney jet engine.

"The Bio-Diesel works very similarly to diesel," said Carl Perlinger, Milligan`s business development manager. "Kevin and his crew had to make some minor adjustments to the injectors to make sure they are getting enough fuel, but I have seen it run and it works.

"The car runs the quarter mile in around 6.5 seconds at a speed of 250 mph. He has put it up against regular jet funny cars and won."

Perlinger said the jet car garners attention for biodiesel and "shows what we can do with biodiesel and the power that can be achieved."

Fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol draw considerable interest because they come from renewable feedstocks in contrast to petroleum based fuels which are refined from a depleting resource. But there are a variety of other factors that make biodiesel attractive.

"The biggest advantage to using Canola biodiesel is the added lubricity," Perlinger said. "By adding lubricity you decrease the amount of engine wear and therefore increase the longevity of the engine, we have seen."

"Canola carries unique lubricity properties that are not visible in other feedstock, therefore making canola one of, if not, the best feedstock to use for bio-diesel production."

The effort to reduce emissions from petroleum-based diesel has involved removing sulphur from the fuel, but that also reduces the fuel`s lubricity. That reduced lubricity has to be taken into account in designing and maintaining diesel engines.

An important consideration with diesel fuel is how well it flows in cold weather conditions.

"Canola based biodiesel will begin to gel at approximately -14 C where animal tallow biodiesel will gel at 20 C and Soy based biodiesel will gel at near 0 C.

Perlinger said biodiesel also cuts greenhouse gas emissions and provides improved fuel economy. For example, he said a blend that`s five per cent biodiesel and 95 per cent petro diesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent while raising fuel economy five per cent.

Concerns about growing crops for fuel production include whether there`s a reduction of food production and the amount of energy needed to plant and harvest the crop.

Milligan Bio-Tech finds itself in a solid position since it uses off-grade canola in its biodiesel.

"Off-grade canola is canola that is not suitable for the food industry, and has little to no market," Perlinger said.

"Canola biodiesel does have a positive energy trade-off," he said. "For every unit of energy used to produce biodiesel two units of energy are produced."

Where biodiesel is concerned, one of its greatest promoters is singing legend Willie Nelson who is involved in marketing a fuel called BioWillie.

Nelson "is invested heavily in bio-diesel, but his interest is in Texas and using cotton seed oil, soy and animal fat," Perlinger said. "He works very hard to promote the bio-diesel industry and to drive interest in all types of biodiesel."

During a visit to Regina, Nelson stopped by the Milligan Bio-Tech booth at the Farm Progress show and didn`t hesitate to support the company`s efforts.

"Willie bought over 600 US gallons of B100 biodiesel from us for his tour buses while he was in Regina," Perlinger said.

Despite the interest from Nelson and use the fuel in race vehicles -- the jet car and a diesel drag truck in Dawson Creek, B.C. -- the availability of canola-based biodiesel is limited.

"Currently, if you are looking for bio-diesel you would have to buy it directly from Milligan in Foam Lake, Sask.," Perlinger said. "We are looking for distributors that are interested in blending the biodiesel and selling at retail outlets, but to date we haven`t gotten to the pump."

In addition to biodiesel, Milligan also produces a diesel fuel conditioner. For more information, check out the website at www.milliganbiotech.com.

© The Edmonton Journal 2007