TECHNOLOGY // FUELS // TAIL END
The Rye Group has switched from using fossil diesel as a fuel, to the near zero emissions hydrocarbon hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO).
“WE DEEMED IT IMPORTANT THAT WE ARE ABLE TO OBTAIN A STEADY SUPPLY AT A GUARANTEED RATE PER LITRE FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS”
OUT OF THE FRYER INTO THE TANK Paul Argent reports on an early adopter of hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) as a fuel of the future
rom April 2022 the UK construction industry will no longer have access to rebated ‘red’ diesel and gas oil, and full-priced ‘white’ diesel will have to be used in all machines. From an environmental perspective, the benefit will come from a marginal reduction in the overall use of diesel by the industry. This will be driven both by contractors and clients requiring their sites to become more efficient, leading to the widespread uptake of fuel-saving muck-shifting technologies, on the latest fuel-efficient machines. An increasingly important aspect of tender awards is the impact that the
F
proposed works will have on the client’s carbon footprint. Over recent years, this has focused on using lower-emissions machines in smarter ways. With the new baseline fuel cost being full-priced diesel, the additional environmental benefits of filling the tanks with a diesel substitute come well within financial range. Throughout Europe the production of the first generation of bio-fuels, such as the bio-diesel rapeseed methyl ester (RME), has now reached its peak. They are being replaced by second-generation bio-fuels, in particular hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO). Manufacturing HVO involves a far more environmentally-friendly process than
producing RME. Compared with bio-diesel, HVO is a technically superior fuel (see panel overleaf), which can be made from a number of waste streams, including used cooking oil.
EARLY ADOPTER An early UK adopter of HVO fuel is demolition and remediation main contractor the Rye Group, as MD Simon Barlow declared, “We saw the benefit early on with HVO, not only to reduce the emissions we are creating as a company, but also to assist our clients in reducing their C02 output on their projects. “We looked at the benefits and pitfalls NOVEMBER 2021
Rye fuel_2pp_r l_BLUE.indd 93
EARTHMOVERS
93
16/09/2021 15:56
