Opinion: Comparing Biodiesel With Diesel Fuel
An option submitted in August by John Hausladen of the Minnesota Trucking Association makes several negative remarks about biodiesel and the biodiesel industry ("Biodiesel: Some Promise and Some Questions," 8-6, p. 9). While the intent of the Hausladen article was perhaps to raise objective questions about the alternative fuel, many of the points presented have no basis in fact. I would like to shed light on some of the misinformation.
Hausladen states that the Minnesota Trucking Association was "unable to find reliable third-party data that were not somehow connected to soybean money." This is peculiar, because the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Caterpillar Inc., University of California-Davis, Colorado School of Mines and Stanadyne Automotive Corp. are just some of the institutions that have conducted performance and emissions studies on biodiesel and don't have any connection to soybean or biodiesel industry money.
Information gathered from these studies shows that biodiesel works in any diesel engine, usually with no modifications necessary to the engine, and that biodiesel offers comparable performance to diesel while reducing emissions. In Stanadyne's tests, biodiesel was found to have superior lubricity in addition to its other positive performance characteristics. As a result, Stanadyne submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency to encourage the blending of biodiesel into all ultra-low-sulfur diesel.
Hausladen's editorial also states that biodiesel supporters have been "unable to produce real-life fleet operational data." A wide variety of fleets have used biodiesel successfully in more than 40 million over-the-road miles. More than 100 major fleets use it today, including state transportation fleets, national park fleets and private fleets. While it is true that biodiesel is currently mostly used by centrally fueled fleets, there are many cases of successful use in over-the-road tractor-trailers, too.
For example, a study published in 2000 by West Virginia University and DOE, titled "Emissions from Nine Heavy Trucks Fueled by Diesel and Biodiesel Blends Without Engine Modification," states that "the nine tractor trucks tested were powered by Cummins 855 engines made in the late 1980s and DDC series 60 engines built in the 1990s. No engine or fueling system modifications were made on the vehicles to run on biodiesel. All vehicles performed well when fueled with biodiesel blends, and no fuel-related problems were observed during tests."
A study completed in 1998 by the University of Idaho in association with Caterpillar and the potato company J.R. Simplot tested B50 -- 50% biodiesel, 50% petroleum diesel -- in a tractor-trailer using a Caterpillar 3406E 435-horsepower engine. Simplot used the truck in daily operations from the company's Caldwell plant. Over the course of this 200,000-mile over-the-road truck demonstration, 12,000 gallons of biodiesel were used. The final report said the engine was power-tested on a chasses dynamometer at Western States Caterpillar truck shop in Boise, Idaho, and that "oil analyses have shown no irregular metals or contaminants [that] would indicate unusual wear; some fuel dilution of the lubricating oil is noted over the 40,234 km (25,000 miles) between oil changes. The dynamometer tests have not shown any unusual operational problems. Power has been maintained at or above initial test levels. The injector cutout test shows an even balance between all cylinders."
Additionally, several fleets are using biodiesel in tractor-trailers in daily operations, including the public utility company Georgia Power. Tony Saxon, alternative fuel vehicle supervisor with the company, says 12 over-the-road tractor-trailers averaging about 40,000 miles a year have performed well on B20 for the past two years. Rockland Materials, a concrete company in Phoenix, uses pure biodiesel (B100). Company President Ed Belt says Rockland uses B100 in five over-the-road tractor-trailers that each drive about 600 miles a day. He says that biodiesel performs just fine and the drivers have "noticed no difference."
Just about any fleet manager who has had experience with biodiesel will relate a positive experience. The long-haul trucking industry has not had much experience with biodiesel yet, simply because it is not available at every public pump cross-country. As the nation struggles with energy security and environmental issues, biodiesel is bound to become increasingly popular. The hard-working truckers of America have nothing to fear. It has been thoroughly tested both in independent laboratories and by fleets throughout the country that are using biodiesel with great success.
The writer is chairman of the Diesel Fuel Injection Equipment Standards Committee of the Society of Automotive Engineers and a former quality management systems manager for Stanadyne Automotive Corp., a maker of diesel fuel injection equipment.
This story appeared in the Dec. 31 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
