The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
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www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | NOVEMBER 2014 37 HVAC/ HydroniCs "If you take credit for the fuel you are not using at the power plant to generate electricity, you can achieve efficiencies in the equivalent 125% range perhaps, maybe a bit higher. The engi- neer in me loves this stuff and I think the potential is fantastic," Butcher said, though noting that currently these systems are "fiercely expensive." Butcher outlined another potential advantage with such systems—the reliability and resiliency factor in case of power outages. However, he further added that current approaches still require the grid to function. "Black start" systems need to be developed to fully maximize on this opportunity, but that makes them even more expensive, he noted. Circling back, an audience member asked the question: "Is it really worth the effort to push for condensing oil units to get an extra 3% or 4% efficiency?" Butcher's response was pragmatic, given the big picture efficiency goals. "With non- condensing oil you can hit 92% efficiency, because there is less water vapor in the exhaust compared to gas," he said. "I personally don't think the additional cost [for condensing] is worth it. Once you get to 92% you might as well start taking the next step up if the goal is to save oil and energy. Putting in a 96% efficient unit vs. a 92% unit is not as impactful as looking at the existing population of low-performing, often low-income installations out there and doing something to address those." Butcher went on to discuss another combustion technolo- gy—modulating oil burners. "Forever we seem to have wanted modulating oil burners that can achieve higher efficiency by rapid firing rates up and down," he said. "Certainly the gas burners with modulating firing ranges can achieve an AFUE will advantage, so can we achieve that with oil? We've tested modulating burners that work great, but they are expensive and never really broke into the market. So, I would say that modulating burners remain a dream that we would love to see." Additionally, Butcher touched on electric heat pumps that are gaining market share in Europe. He noted that the perfor- mance of these new systems is phenomenal, and they are mak- ing strong strides, and oil needs to keep its eye on future of these technologies. Fuels "Ultralow sulfur is a given so there's no reason to talk about that for the future," said Butcher, starting off the fu- els discussion. "I want to talk about biofuels, some good and some not good." On the not so good front, though it is an area an increas- ing number of traditional heating oil dealers have explored, he cited wood fuel. "Wood has become the fastest-growing fuel in the coun- try," he said. "There have been strong economics in its favor. The use of wood stoves has increased significantly. Nobody expected this or planned for this, but happened. Some of this I can't help but believe is temporary, and that folks will get tired of this. We've done it before, and we recycled through it in the 1970s." His primary objection was the pollution angle. Butcher noted that wood combustion has become the primary source of par- ticulates in New York State. "There is an initiative called Renew- able Heat New York, with a primary commercial focus," he said. "The motivators for the states are the renewable factor, but that's only part of it as it's also creating local jobs. Harvest the wood, make pellets, etc. I saw a study that showed ambient particulates due to wood combustion is very, very high despite the fact that only a very small fraction of the population actually heats with wood. Now, if you start growing that until it's not just a tiny fraction—think about the impact on ambient air quality." He noted that the issue is being acknowledged, and that there is a lot of interest in advanced technologies for wood to con- trol particulates and in advanced thermal storage. But once you move into those areas the economics start to weaken, he stated. As might be expected, biodiesel made up the "good" part of the discussion. "If you look at biodiesel, the amazing thing is the volumes," he said. There was [nearly 1.8] billion gallons produced last year. Other sources, like gasification, are nowhere near that. I think we absolutely need a renewable pathway for the future to be part of this. I think the future is a heavy biodiesel future, and what a tremendously exciting change that is if you look at where we were 50 years ago. Biodiesel was nowhere, and that redefines where we can be." Butcher asked the audience what level of Bioheat® the indus- try should be looking at as research moves forward. He noted that one of the top priority items to come out of a NORA research meeting in June, was a priority to get a 100% biodiesel burner (see sidebar for more information on NORA research develop- ments). "I was surprised at that. There is a really strong feeling that we need to eliminate all technical barriers to using biodiesel at any level we want to use it. Accomplishing that, I think, puts the oil heat industry in a tremendous light on the national stage. It's now a potentially very renewable heating mechanism, that is much cleaner than other options," he said. Other liquid biofuels were also discussed, though most of those are currently on the fringe of mainstream applicability. "Gasification is fantastic," said Butcher. "They do this in South Africa. They produce their gasoline from coal, and it can be done with biomass, but it's not going anywhere. The capi- tal cost associated with the construction of these plants is such an impediment to entry into this market, and the risk associ- ated with making that investment has traditionally been a really strong barrier. So technically it's possible, and the fuels are amaz- ing. But compared to biofuels we are talking [1.8] billion gallons compared to what now is a small sample. My feeling is it would be nice if they come, but it's not there right now." Butcher also touched on wood gasification through pyrolysis, where you take wood and cook it with a lack of oxygen and you produce a gaseous fuel (that can further be processed into a liq- uid if desired). "The resource size is tremendous, and if we can produce liquid fuels from wood that has real potential," he said.