A Highly Integrated and Sustainable Business Model
What separates Rothsay Biodiesel from other biofuel producers is our highly integrated and sustainable business model. As a member of Maple Leaf Foods, we span the value chain from our live hog and poultry operations, to our primary processing and rendering operations.
Maple Leaf Foods raises hogs and poultry for processing at Maple Leaf Foods facilities around the country. Of the parts of the animal processed by Maple Leaf Foods, only a portion is considered edible: 50% of a cow, 60% of a hog and 72% of a chicken. The remainder, some 2.5 billion kilograms in Canada annually, is taken by the rendering industry and converted to value added products.
Rothsay Biodiesel has an uninterrupted supply of raw materials using the tallow and recycled cooking oils produced at its rendering facilities. These materials are used to produce biodiesel, a clean, renewable low-carbon alternative to petroleum diesel.
By co-locating our biodiesel plant at our existing operations we are able to further lower our environmental footprint through more efficient use of resources.
We are also uniquely positioned to enhance the sustainability of our rendering operation by utilizing biodiesel blends in our own commercial truck fleet. We use biodiesel to power 127 heavy duty commercial trucks at three locations year-round with blends ranging between 5%-100%. By doing this, our fleet runs on biodiesel produced from the very materials they are collecting.
Fueling our own truck fleet with lower-carbon alternatives like biodiesel not only improves our environmental footprint, but also those of our customers. By having Rothsay trucks pick-up our customers’ waste products, they are given a unique opportunity to improve the sustainability of their operations as well.
Here's how we are creating a sustainable future...
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A Sustainable Product
Produced from materials recycled at our rendering plants, Rothsay’s biodiesel has a very high sustainability score. A 2009 study based on the Natural Resources Canada GHGenius model demonstrated that biodiesel derived from tallow reduces lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) by 99% when compared to petroleum diesel.
Our production process also contributes to the sustainability of our product. The energy needed to create our biodiesel is mostly powered by the non-fossil waste by-product produced in our manufacturing process. Overall, the ratio of fuel produced to fossil energy consumed for Rothsay’s biodiesel process is 100:1.
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Building a Sustainable Industry
Our commitment goes beyond the production and sales of our own biodiesel. Rothsay Biodiesel is committed to the development of the biofuels industry.
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BioBus Project
In 2002, while operating our pilot plant, Rothsay supplied 500,000L of our biodiesel fuelling 122 Montreal Urban Transit buses for a full year. This project was designed to test the use of biodiesel as a source of supply for public transit and asses the cold weather viability.
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BioMer Project
In 2003, we supplied biodiesel to fuel 12 cruise boats with B100 in the port of Montreal. The project successfully demonstrated the use of B100 in cruise boats.
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Partnering to Advance Biofuels
Remaining a technology leader requires a committed effort to research. Rothsay is working with research teams at McGill University and University of Waterloo on advanced biofuel production technologies through the Government of Canada’s NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) program. This mutually beneficial relationship ensures that Rothsay is engaged in leading edge technologies and that researchers have access to valuable industry expertise.
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Powering our Fleets
Rothsay has been using biodiesel to power our commercial fleet since 2001. In 2009, we expanded the fleet trial to our three largest locations powering 127 trucks on blends ranging from 5%-100%. The fleet trial demonstrates the viability of biodiesel in select blends in cold weather, as well as all blends in warmer weather. The trial has been invaluable in demonstrating the usability of biodiesel.
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Research Samples
Rothsay Biodiesel has shown continual support for research committed to the development of biofuels and bio-based products. We have supplied samples and technical support to researchers, other biofuel producers, entrepreneurs, and government agencies and are proud to continue this.
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Industry Commitment
Rothsay Biodiesel is an active and voting participant in the two standard setting bodies that manage the biodiesel specifications in North America – ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) and CGSB (Canadian General Standards Board). Participation allows Rothsay to stay current with the diesel and biodiesel standards, and provides forward visibility that enables Rothsay to anticipate future standards and changes in the marketplace.