Triangle Biofuels Blog

Well, our state can’t seem to get it together yet, but here’s another state that is requiring a mandatory biodiesel blend for all diesel sold in the state:

The governor of Pennsylvania has confirmed that each gallon of diesel fuel in that state will contain at least two percent biodiesel starting in January of 2010, according to information from the National Biodiesel Board (NBB).

“The major challenge we’ve always had is getting fuel out to the public,” said Ben Wootton, president of the Pennsylvania Biodiesel Producers Group and president of Keystone Biofuels. “We repeatedly hear ‘Where can I buy the fuel?’ This legislation helps ensure that the oil companies’ terminals offer biodiesel product.”

The legislation, passed in July 2008, called for a blend of B2 (two percent biodiesel, 98 percent diesel fuel) in each gallon of biodiesel sold in Pennsylvania. This was contingent upon the in-state production of biodiesel of 40 million gallons, which has now been met, the NBB said.

Producers have maintained a 3.3 million gallon per-month average for a 90 day period. The 12-month period from January 2009, until the effective date January 2010, is to allow infrastructure to be built up to prepare for the additional biodiesel sales, NBB said.

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It appears the press has been clogged with cold weather gunk again, passing along hype and failing to freely flow the researched, verified truth.  This time, there have been dozens of reports in print, television, and radio that hundreds of school children were left stranded in the cold when biodiesel fuel school buses failed to operate in the cold northern climate last week.  It seems that it’s big news to bash the alternative fuel business, preferring to stay firmly entrenched in OPEC’s firm grasp.

The official report by the state of Minnesota is as follows:

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Citing an independent study, the Minnesota Department of Commerce reiterated today that biodiesel was not the culprit that caused school buses in Bloomington, Minn. to malfunction last week.

“The problems with school buses in Minnesota had nothing to do with biodiesel,” said Bill Walsh, Communications Director for the Minnesota Department of Commerce. “An independent investigation confirmed what we believed last week – when it gets to 20 degrees below zero in the Midwest, diesel engines have trouble operating unless they are properly maintained – whether or not they are using a biodiesel blend.”

The report concluded components in diesel fuel caused the problem, even though the Bloomington School District claimed it was biodiesel.

“Nothing is more important than getting kids to school safely, which is why we worked proactively to find out exactly what troubled the buses in Bloomington,” said Ed Hegland, National Biodiesel Board Chairman.

The report issued Friday by Meg Corp. and paid for by the distributor that supplied the fuel, Yokum Oil, analyzed filters from the buses that broke down. The buses were using B2, which is 98 percent petroleum diesel blended with 2 percent biodiesel. Minnesota has a statewide B2 mandate in effect. “We found that whatever was plugging the filters was not biodiesel, but a substance found in petroleum,” the report concludes.

No other area school districts or diesel operators reported similar problems.

A B2 blend, when properly handled, will perform just like diesel. The biodiesel industry works closely with the petroleum industry and offers many resources regarding biodiesel use in cold climates.

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We did some very informal tests here at the plant to try to determine which anti-gel additive would work best for our fuel.  We’ve been using the Stantadyne Winter 1000 additive with pretty good results, but decided to test some other products on the market to see what results we would get.  All tests were done with pure B100 biodiesel fuel made from virgin soybean oil and waste vegetable oil. 

The photo on the left was taken when the ambient temperature was 14°F.  The photo on the right was taken two days later when the ambient temperature was 41°F.

The samples are (from left to right):  

1. Control Sample (pure biodiesel)
2. Stantadyne Winter 1000 (3ml added to 450ml)
3. Artic Express (3ml added to 450ml)
4. AAA Biodiesel Cold Flow Additive (3ml added to 450ml)
5. B80 (80% biodiesel to 20% petroleum diesel)

Interesting to note is that the pure biodiesel sample returned to normal after warming up, with only slight waxing noticeable in the fuel.  The additive samples were still well waxed, and would undoubtedly cause problems with filters until warmed up further.  The 5th sample on the right of the second picture is B80 (20% petroleum diesel), which was added to the test but not included in the first photo.  It did considerably better than all the other samples tested.

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