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New Cold-Climate Biodiesel Study Gives Marketers More Confidence |
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Written by Robert
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Thursday, 01 September 2005 |
Source:
GreenBiz.com
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Aug. 24, 2005 - A new study offers
guidance on proper
blending of biodiesel fuel to achieve consistent
performance in cold
weather.
Made from domestic resources such as
soybean oil or other domestic fats and
vegetable oils, biodiesel can be used
in any diesel engine with few or no
modifications and can be blended with
petroleum diesel at any level.
Biodiesel is widely in use by governmental and
commercial fleets, personal
passenger vehicle owners, and farmers.
The
National Biodiesel Board (NBB) coordinated the Cold Flow Blending
Study
because petroleum blenders and distributors wanted more data on the
most
cost-effective means to achieve a homogenous, or consistent, biodiesel
blend
in cold weather. A new Minnesota law requires all on-highway diesel
fuels to
contain at least 2% biodiesel.
"Many blenders have requested
guidelines which detail processes and
temperatures that could be implemented
to reduce operational issues of
getting a good biodiesel blend," said Paul
Nazzaro, coordinator of this
study and petroleum liaison to NBB. "The
collective efforts of this
diversified group of experts have generated a
comprehensive body of work
which has taken the guess work out of storage and
blending of B2 and will
help ensure consistency and
reliability."
Biodiesel blends of B20 (that is, a 20% biodiesel and 80%
regular diesel
blend) and lower can be used in cold climates if the finished
blend has
appropriate cold flow properties for the time of year and geography
where it
is used. This study addressed questions from the petroleum industry
about
how to achieve that stable blend in cold weather, especially for a B2
blend,
when the temperature of the diesel fuel is colder than the point at
which
the pure biodiesel starts to freeze and become cloudy (known as
cloud
point).
According to the report, successful homogenous blending
of B2 will occur if
the biodiesel is incorporated into the diesel stream as
it is going from a
storage tank to a truck and if the temperature of the
biodiesel is a minimum
of 10 F above the cloud point. The temperature of the
diesel fuel did not
matter as long as its temperature was above its cloud
point. This type of
in-line blending is similar to the way conventional
diesel fuel additives
are incorporated.
"With the Cold Flow Blending
Study now completed, petroleum organizations
and downstream blenders can move
forward with their planning for B2
distribution," said Nazzaro.
The
full study can be downloaded in PDF format: (1.9 megabites though)
http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/reportsdatabase/reports/gen/20050728_Gen-
354.pdf
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