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12/01/06 Biodiesel – Promises and Problems
In the closing days of 2005 the eyes of many in the trucking industry were on Minnesota, as the nation’s first law mandating the use of biodiesel fuel took effect. It was an experiment that was watched with interest not only by the trucking industry, but by the agricultural and environmental communities as well.
Sadly for all those concerned, the experiment did not go well. Minnesota’s law mandated that all diesel sold in the State be blended with a 2% mixture of biodiesel, known as B2. This is less than the 5% biodiesel, B5, blending that has been endorsed by the American Trucking Association, ATA, the biodiesel industry, and the Engine Manufacturer’s Association, EMA.
Unfortunately for biodiesel advocates something in the manufacturing or distribution process went wrong and several batches of biodiesel that did not meet the mandated fuel quality standards were blended into the diesel fuel supply. This resulted in dozens of trucking firms losing tens of thousands of dollars as truck after truck became sidelined due to clogged fuel filters. Minnesota was forced to suspend its biodiesel mandate a number of times as both the industry and the State sought to locate and remedy the problems.
Eventually the cause of the problem was traced to production batches of biodiesel that contained too high a percentage of glycerin. The situation has since been remedied and Minnesota’s biodiesel plan is back on track.
Despite the problems in Minnesota the future of biodiesel is bright. British Petroleum for example recently announced that it is planning to spend $500 million over the next 10 years to establish a biofuel energy research lab, the BP Energy Biosciences Institute. Chevron announced plans to open the largest biodiesel plant in the U.S., with a capacity of producing 100 million gallons a year. At the same time Archer Daniels Midland Co. announced that it would be investing between $3.5 and $4 billion over the next few years to construct new biodiesel and ethanol plants.
According to the Department of Energy, biodiesel has become the fastest growing alternative fuel in the U.S. with some 75 million gallons produced in 2005. That is triple the amount of biodiesel produced in 2004. Currently there are 1,700 petroleum distributors nationwide that carry biodiesel and more than 800 filling stations providing biodiesel to users. More than 600 fleets are currently using biodiesel, including the Department of Defense, U.S. government, U.S. Postal Service, commercial trucking firms, school bus fleets, and municipal transit authorities.
There are a number of factors that are propelling the growth of biodiesel. It is a domestically produced renewable fuel that can be produced from any fat or vegetable oil. (Most biodiesel in the U.S. is produced from soybean oil.) It reduces emissions and is cleaner burning than pure diesel and can be used in any diesel engine in pure form or as a blend with petroleum diesel. When blended with the new ultra-low sulfur diesel, ulsd, that is currently being phased in, biodiesel adds lubricating properties that ulsd lacks. In addition, with agricultural commodity prices approaching record lows and petroleum prices approaching record highs, biodiesel is becoming a cost-effective alternative to petroleum diesel.
Biodiesel and other farm-based biofuels such as ethanol are increasingly being seen as a key element in U.S. national security policy. As events around the world keep reminding us, energy security is inseparable from national security. In a rare display of bipartisanship, Congress recently passed a resolution known as the 25x’25 initiative that called for the U.S. to set a goal of producing 25% of our energy supply from renewable domestic resources by 2025. Biodiesel will play a key role in reaching that goal.
As the largest consumer of diesel fuel in the U.S., the trucking industry is leading the way in the acceptance of biodiesel as a viable alternate fuel. For example, SYSCO Corporation, the largest private truck fleet in the U.S. has begun using a 5% biodiesel blend, B5, in its truck fleet. The phase-in of ultra-low sulfur diesel provides a unique opportunity for biodiesel to make even greater inroads into the industry and the economy. Biodiesel, even at a low 2% blend, increases the lubricity of ulsd by 65% and removes the necessity of having to add lubricating agents to ulsd.
The Engine Manufacturer’s Association, EMA, has taken the first steps towards standardizing more concentrated biodiesel blends. The EMA has established a test specification for B20 blends of biodiesel, which is the first step towards a formal endorsement of B20. Currently, as noted earlier, the EMA has only endorsed blends up to B5 for use in their engines. B20 is however currently being sold and used in tens of thousands of diesel engines in all types of platforms across the country.
Not many people realize that the very first diesel engine invented by Rudolf Diesel was powered by peanut oil. In 1909, Diesel said, “the use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils may become, in the course of time, as important as petroleum and the coal-tar products of the present time.” That prediction by Rudolf Diesel may be on the verge of being realized.
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