UPDATE:
Lab tests show the problem was may be caused by paraffin wax – a derivative of Diesel Fuel. See this report:
http://nbb.grassroots.com/resources/BloomingtonBusReport.pdf
This bus design does not allow for heating of the filter by the engine.
h/t to Kum Dullison
UPDATE2: There is new information, from E.M. Smith in comments, citing that possibility of “methylester that solidifies at >10F vs Paraffin wax” could be a contributor. The lab did not test for that, so the question of fuel quality remains unresolved.
==========================================
Excerpts from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, January 16th 2009
Biodiesel fuel woes close Bloomington schools
“All schools in the Bloomington School District (Minnesota) will be closed today after state-required biodiesel fuel clogged in school buses Thursday morning and left dozens of students stranded in frigid weather, the district said late Thursday.
Rick Kaufman, the district’s spokesman, said elements in the biodiesel fuel that turn into a gel-like substance at temperatures below 10 degrees clogged about a dozen district buses Thursday morning. Some buses weren’t able to operate at all and others experienced problems while picking up students, he said.
We had students at bus stops longer than we think is acceptable, and that’s too dangerous in these types of temperatures,” Kaufman said.”
. . .
The decision to close school today came after district officials consulted with several neighboring districts that were experiencing similar problems. Bloomington staffers tried to get a waiver to bypass the state requirement and use pure diesel fuel, but they weren’t able to do so in enough time, Kaufman said. They also decided against scheduling a two-hour delay because the temperatures weren’t expected to rise enough that the problem would be eliminated.
In 2005, a new requirement went into effect that all diesel fuel sold in Minnesota had to contain 2 percent biodiesel. Kaufman said that some school districts keep their buses in temperature-controlled garages, and that the First Student bus service, which contracts with several metro-area school districts, keeps its buses in garages or idles them through the night.
Meanwhile, in other news:
Minnesota Boosts Biodiesel Initiative from 2 to 20%
(h/t to Popular Technology)
Pamela Gray (18:23:14) :
Thanks hotrod for the sane discussion. We are no where near starving people because we can’t grow enough food. If we are starving people, it isn’t because there isn’t enough land to grow food on.
I wish more folks understood this like you do. I try to explain that it’s not production, it’s politics, wars, distribution, economic access. For some reason it doesn’t stick. The ‘scare’ story of ‘running out of food’ sells. I wish I knew why.
But because of price controls on my unfinished product, there is no guarantee to me that I will make a profit. I can’t change what I charge for a truck full of wheat
What about other, more minor grains? Barley, amaranth, rapeseed. Are they all price controlled too? Or is there no local marketing infrastructure so no place to sell? (This is one of my pet peeves… how to get more income to stay on the farm. Family stories of great depression on a farm…)
Why? It will swing up and down just like the price of gasoline. Would you like to pay $2 for eggs today but $6 dollars next month? I thought not.
And that is why such programs are correctly called ‘price stabilization’ rather than farmer welfare! Folks just don’t understand price inelastic markets…
There are three simple solutions to the problems associated with bio-Diesel. These are:
1. Don’t use it. The ed officials should tell the regulators to buzz off because this is stuff is noithing but a pain in the butt.
2. Put the fuel in outdoor steel tanks, wait until the bio stuff crystalllizes out, then draw off the supernatant, and run it thru a filter before putting in the buses’ fuel tanks.
3. Retro fit the buses with Wesport-Cummins Diesel engines which use cheap compressed natural gas. Westport (Vancouver, BC)) has develped special injectors that permit the use of natural gas and other light hydrocarbons gases as fuel for Diesel engines. Wesport found that hydrocarbon gases can be used as fuel if a small amount of Diesel is co-injected with gas. This is the clean Diesel technology. Presently, these engines are used almost exclusively in city buses. BC Transit has about 50 of these buses in service in Metro Vancouver and Victoria. The big advantage of these engines is greatly reduced emission of air pollutants in urban areas
The main disadvantage of hydrocarbon fuel gases is low energy density. Nevertheless, nat gas is dirt cheap in BC. Other disadvantages are heavy tanks required for storage of these fuels and somewhat higher maintanence costs.
Check out this guys. Methanex (Vancouver, BC) sells methanol (aka methyl hydrate aka wood alcohol) for ca. $1.50 per US gal. Racing cars have been using methanol formulations for quite sometime, and they go very, very fast. FlexFuel cars could in theory use methanol. For cold climates, however, addition of a small amount of dimethyl ether would be required to lower the flash point to about -40 F.
Harold Pierce Jr (11:13:23) :
3. Retro fit the buses with Wesport-Cummins Diesel engines which use cheap compressed natural gas. Westport (Vancouver, BC)) has develped special injectors that permit the use of natural gas and other light hydrocarbons gases as fuel for Diesel engines. Wesport found that hydrocarbon gases can be used as fuel if a small amount of Diesel is co-injected with gas.
Minor point: This was known a long time ago. I found a masters thesis in the U.C. Berkeley Engineering library in the late 1970’s about running methane as a co-fuel in Diesel engines via fumigation in the air intake. I also did some experiments using propane and alcohol in the same way in the 1980’s that were published on the old sci.energy boards. IIRC there was a Cummins guy who participated as well. It was some time after that that Cummins developed their computer controlled version… The Diesel is injected to act like a spark plug and light off the mass of other gasses that must be very high octane if fumigated, or low octane if injected.
I would further speculate that some of the old wood-gas and gasogene adaptations of Diesels in the WW1-WW2 era probably used the same technique.
The more things change the more they stay the same…
Kum Dollison (20:42:33) :
Let me add one thing. Stanford University did a study, and found that there are between 1.0 and 1.2 Billion Acres of Arable land lying “Abandoned” worldwide. That could, quite likely, power every car, truck, and farm tractor in the world.
Yup. Cheaper to move on than reclaim the land. IIRC roughly 1/4 of the farm land in India is in that category. That is why I support Jatropha. It will be planted on those lands (low in nitrogen & tilth) and upgrade them via nitrogen fixation and tilth improvements from seed & leaf mulch.
From:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2097.html
We have for “world”
arable land: 10.57%
permanent crops: 1.04%
other: 88.38% (2005)
Arable land is the present use, not a limit on what can be used. So we have roughly 11.61% of the land used for crops. There is a lot still available…
Add in the fact that several algae grow systems can be put on any kind of land (closed industrial systems) and there really is no food vs fuel issue.
Just visit Disney World and go to the Epcot “land” center to see what can be done. Take the back room tour of the greenhouse.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Land_(Disney)
http://www.disneyclubs.com/epcot/behind_the_seeds.htm
They grow food (served in the restaurants in the park) of all sorts including fish and a very large palm tree(!) in sand and air. (Hydroponics and aeroponics). Similar tech is in use today around the world (including Saudi Arabia who have lots of sand and not so much arable land… 1.67% per the CIA ).
There is no shortage of land. Food shortages have nothing to do with production, they have everything to do with politics, wars, religion, and economic access.
Some other random google result views of Epcot Land:
http://www.arondaparks.com/LivingWithTheLand.htm
Not the public tour, but nice pictures:
http://www.cropking.com/conftour.shtml
Luke (22:57:21) :
This is probably something that could be resolved by a clever mechanic. There are inline fuel warmers on the market, and I imagine probably a product to keep the tank warm as well.
And this solves the problem how? Where does the energy come from to keep the fuel warm? Sun, wind, ?????? More than likely coal, NG or Nuclear. Look back more then the NOW and you might actually see the problem with “Green answers”
E.M.Smith (17:43:35) :
that must be very high octane if fumigated, or low octane if injected.
That ought to be: “fumigated, or may be low octane if injected.”
Note to moderator: This may be a duplicate. The first one just evaporated!
Kum Dollison (20:42:33) :
Let me add one thing. Stanford University did a study, and found that there are between 1.0 and 1.2 Billion Acres of Arable land lying “Abandoned” worldwide. That could, quite likely, power every car, truck, and farm tractor in the world.
Yup. Cheaper to move on than reclaim the land. IIRC roughly 1/4 of the farm land in India is in that category. That is why I support Jatropha. It will be planted on those lands (low in nitrogen & tilth) and upgrade them via nitrogen fixation and tilth improvements from seed & leaf mulch.
From:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2097.html
We have for “world”
arable land: 10.57%
permanent crops: 1.04%
other: 88.38% (2005)
Arable land is the present use, not a limit on what can be used. So we have roughly 11.61% of the land used for crops. There is a lot still available…
Add in the fact that several algae grow systems can be put on any kind of land (closed industrial systems) and there really is no food vs fuel issue.
Just visit Disney World and go to the Epcot “land” center to see what can be done. Take the back room tour of the greenhouse.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Land_(Disney)
http://www.disneyclubs.com/epcot/behind_the_seeds.htm
They grow food (served in the restaurants in the park) of all sorts including fish and a very large palm tree(!) in sand and air. (Hydroponics and aeroponics). Similar tech is in use today around the world (including Saudi Arabia who have lots of sand and not so much arable land… 1.67% per the CIA ).
There is no shortage of land. Food shortages have nothing to do with production, they have everything to do with politics, wars, religion, and economic access.
Some other random google result views of Epcot Land:
http://www.arondaparks.com/LivingWithTheLand.htm
Not the public tour, but nice pictures:
http://www.cropking.com/conftour.shtml
Steve (18:22:27) :
And this solves the problem how? Where does the energy come from to keep the fuel warm? Sun, wind, ?????? More than likely coal, NG or Nuclear. Look back more then the NOW and you might actually see the problem with “Green answers”
Steve, the energy comes from the engine most of the time (12vdc or hot water from the engine for fuel filter warmer, tank warmers & fuel line). The block heater is run off of the ‘mains’, but since it also gives you instant cabin heat, instant defogger, and generally faster starts in winter with any fuel, I don’t see that as significant.
I would also point out that the 0.1 kW or so of a block heater is insignificant compared to the 35-70 kW of the engine… or the energy to heat the barn…
This is exactly the same equipment used with dino Diesel in frigid areas, you just start using it a bit sooner during winter.
There is nothing particularly wrong with ‘green’ solutions. They are a bit different and it is the adjustment phase that causes issues. Unfortunately our lawmakers don’t make it easy (by passing laws that block intelligent solutions, like having 4% in summer and 0% in winter averaging 2%…) and extended creeping adjustments (+5% / yr for 20 years…) just prolongs the agony.
Personally, I’d rather they didn’t mandate anything, it just forces people against their will into things they don’t understand. Markets let me choose when to jump on a bandwagon, or not. Market good. Mandate bad…
how about biodiesel space rockets!!!!
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16471-could-biodiesel-power-future-rockets.html
Lab test shows it wasn’t the biodiesel.
http://nbb.grassroots.com/resources/BloomingtonBusReport.pdf
It was Paraffin – a derivative of Diesel Fuel. It was grossly irresponsible to put this post up without getting the facts.
Kum, note the source, Minneapolis Star Tribune. Take up the issue with them. I’m posting your note in the body of the story.
Who, pray tell, will see it? You should make a separate post.
REPLY: I’ll move the update up top for better visibility…I will also look for your letter to the editor for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The question now should be, was there presence of the chemical agent added to the biodiesel mix that prevents this problem? I see a reference to it in the report, but I’m unclear if it was actually present.
I’ll also point out that no matter what the design, and without that chemical agent (Wax-Anti settling agent) if the buses sat outdoors all weekend at those temperatures, without engines idling, they would have the same problem, diesel or biodiesel, correct? – Anthony
BTW, I don’t read the Star Tribune. I expect this kind of nonsense from them.
I read YOUR BLOG. I thought it was a search for “truth” in “Science.”
REPLY: I posted no opinion of my own on this story. And explain to me, given the resources I have, what should I have done? Flown to Minneapolis? Demanded to inspect the buses myself? Remove the filters and then contracted out an independent testing lab at my own expense?
If you don’t like this blog, don’t read it, but don’t place demands on me that are out of my scope as a blogger. I don’t see you getting all that excited about other stories here that I highlight, do you have a finacial stake in biodiesel?
The process of discovery works, and I posted followup information which contradicts the initial report. But the question remains. Was anti wax settling agent in the biodeisel mix?
-Anthony
You could have asked yourself one pertinent, and glaringly, obviously begging question: “Why a couple of buses from ONE school system in an ENTIRE STATE that requires 2% Bio in ALL of its Diesel?” This question, alone, should have given you pause, and a hint that you should “wait a day.”
I am a retired insurance agent. I own no stock in any biofuels company, nor any farmland, or retail outlets. I am merely interested in my grandchildren’s future.
I do not wax eloquent on “Climate Change” issues because I’m totally unqualified to do so. I read your blog every day to try to learn something.
As for the presence of a “settling agent:” It doesn’t matter. What matters is that it was a “Diesel” problem, not a “Bio” problem.
BTW, I don’t recall you asking all of those anti-biofuel commentors if they had “financial” interests in the Petroleum business.
REPLY: I asked because this seems to be the only topic (alternate energy/fuels) you are truly passionate about on this blog. – Anthony
Some perspective on diesel fuel, cold weather, and additives.
Wax molecules are nothing more than long, straight-chain hydrocarbons a.k.a. alkanes. Diesel fuel will have more or fewer alkanes depending on the crude oil from which the diesel fuel was distilled. Crude oils are classified as paraffinic, napthenic, or mixed base which is a bit paraffinic and a bit naphthenic. Diesel fuel made from a paraffinic crude oil will naturally have more wax molecules. There are also other factors, such as whether the diesel fuel was made directly from the crude oil, a.k.a straight-run diesel, or from a processing unit in the refinery such as a hydrocracker or catalytic cracker. In the U.S., most diesel fuel is a blend of both straight-run and light cycle oil from a catalytic cracker.
The diesel fuel has a couple of pertinent laboratory tests on physical properties, including cloud point and pour point, which are important for this discussion. There are also several other physical properties, including sulfur content, cetane, and flash point.
Cloud point is critical in cold weather because this is the temperature at which the wax molecules precipitate out of solution, causing a characteristic cloudy appearance to an otherwise essentially clear liquid. The colder the fuel gets, the more wax molecules precipitate or crystallize. Precipitation does not indicate the wax falls to the bottom of the vessel or tank. The crystals are very fine and typically remain suspended as the fuel’s viscosity increases, or gets thicker. These wax crystals plug the fuel filters.
Pour point is also critical in cold weather because this is the temperature at which the viscosity gets so high that the fuel will no longer flow easily. It is comparable to honey or molasses on a cold day.
Refining chemists devised additives to address both cloud point and pour point, known as suppressants or depressants. These pour point depressant is sometimes referred to as a flow improver.
Because the cloud point depressant and pour point depressants are fairly expensive, some users rely on adding kerosene or gasoline to their diesel fuel, as was mentioned by others on this thread.
The use of bio-diesel in petroleum-derived diesel (a.k.a. dino-diesel) complicates matters a bit. As also mentioned by others on this thread, the origin of the bio-diesel is important to selection of the proper additive. Plant-derived bio-diesel includes soy oil, Jatropha oil, and algae oil as also mentioned earlier by others. Animal-derived bio-diesel includes processed or rendered fats from slaugherhouses, and each animal’s fat has different properties. Also, re-used cooking oil is a source of bio-diesel.
Selecting the proper additive is complicated when cold weather occurs, when the bio-diesel blend, perhaps a B-10 (ten percent bio fuel) does not have any additive for cloud or pour point depressant. How is the user to know what form of bio-diesel is included in the fuel tank, and therefore what additive to add?
Roger E. Sowell
“Paraffin” is from Diesel. Glycerol is from Bio. This was Paraffin. This was from the “Diesel” component. The bio had nothing to do with it.
None of the supplier’s other customers had any problems. Could this have been a case of a local school system using up some old “summer” diesel?
REPLY: Doubtful they used summer diesel. Being school trustee myself and signing fuel purchase warrants I can say they don’t have storage capacity that would likely extend out that long…most school systems operate like businesses, on one month cycles of consumables and deliveries. -Anthony
And, Anthony, you might have put in a little update, but that Headline is still there in Extra-Bold, read-all-about-it Type:
COLD WEATHER + GREEN FUEL = YELLOW BUS FAILURE
At least you could change that.
REPLY: If you can prove to me that the biodiesel mix delivered to this school system did indeed have the paraffin wax inhibitor, then I would consider the fuel itself cleared of any issue, and the fuel filter design the entire culprit. Then I’ll be happy to make a change. But if the biodiesel supplier didn’t put this inhibitor in, then the fuel itself would be contributing to the fault. – Anthony
Anthony, read what’s been written. It WAS the fuel. It just wasn’t the “Bio” part of the fuel.
REPLY: I have read it. The issue is: “is biofuel-diesel mix reliable in this situation”?
If the supplier cheaped out or is incompetent, and provided fuel that would be problematic, then I would consider it inferior to regular diesel. I did a news article search looking for other similar news events, such as “semi trucks stranded, buses stranded, etc” and found none. My view is that is regular diesel was also as problematic, there would also be some stories related to the very cold weather for “regular” diesel stranding fleets of trucks or buses.
The only thing I have found that supports your position is an article from an eco-fuel webpage, and they have a stake in the outcome:
http://domesticfuel.com/2009/01/22/confirmation-biodiesel-not-to-blame-in-minnesota/
But the question remains, and there seems to be no answer from anyone involved…did the biodiesel supplier put the wax additive in?
If you can show me that this biodiesel mix was just as good in cold weather as regular diesel used in regular trucking, then I have no problems making a change. – Anthony
The questions to ask the supplier are here:
http://www.biodiesel.org/pdf_files/fuelfactsheets/COLD_BIOFuelDistFactShtNOSOY.pdf
Did the biodiesel mix meet the national standard, ASTM D 6751 and others ? Here is what they say:
Make sure your fuel meets the national
standard, ASTM D 6751. A fact sheet can be
downloaded at http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/
fuelfactsheets. Quality fuel is absolutely critical
to successful cold flow operation.
• Cold flow properties can be improved by
blending biodiesel with kerosene (#1-D), which
has excellent cold flow properties. It is often
blended with #2-D in the winter months to
improve and/or ensure operability. Cloud and
pour points and cold filter plugging point
(CFPP) of some #1-D can be well below -30º F.
• A number of additives are available for
improving the low temperature operability of
diesel fuels. These additives include pour point
depressants, filterability or flow improvers that
lower CFPP, and wax anti-settling additives.
The effectiveness of the additives depends on
the properties of the fuel. So, you must first
understand what your base diesel cold weather
specifications are (cloud point, pour point
and cold filter plugging point). All additives
must be introduced into the diesel fuel before
the fuel reaches its cloud point, and must be
properly blended.
• Block and filter heaters and indoor vehicle
storage can also help ensure smooth winter
operation. However, regardless of your
approach, cold weather management plans
should be in place well before the cold
weather sets in.
• Procure fuel from a biodiesel producer who
is certified under the BQ-9000 program. See
http://www.bq-9000.org for participating companies
and more details.
Call me obtuse but WTF is gas (oil/petrol the name varies by country) not a biofuel?
I just checked on wiki and they claim biofuel is defined as “recently dead biological material”, which sounds like Orwellian doublespeak. As opposed to evil long-dead biological material?
Here´s a suggestion: don´t let them dictate vocabulary, once you concede that you´ve lost a major battle. Bio is biological, carbon based. Make them define them as recently dead, sustainable, Gore´s politically correct fuels, or whatever.
My car runs on biofuel, like practically all.
Kum Dollison (10:06:52) :
Lab test shows it wasn’t the biodiesel.
http://nbb.grassroots.com/resources/BloomingtonBusReport.pdf
It was Paraffin – a derivative of Diesel Fuel. It was grossly irresponsible to put this post up without getting the facts.
Um, careful reading of the report shows they disambiguated ‘glycerin’ from ‘a wax substance’ that they then let melt and from the melting assumed it was paraffin wax. I don’t see that this rules out a heavy methylester as causal. In my experience, solidified methylesters look just like waxes.
I would assume the lab would test for this, but the report does not say so…
What is more puzzling to me is the assertion that glycerin does not ‘go back into solution until […] 100F’. Per the wiki glycerin melts at 64.4F. There is also the small issue that their ought not to be any glycerin in biodiesel anyway. It is considered a waste product in the production and separates as an immiscible phase – settles out, or is washed out with water. So I’m left with wondering how an immiscible substance goes back into solution at all…
Frankly, this looks to me more like a botch lab test from someone (mistakenly?) told to look for glycerine vs ‘wax substance’ rather than a lab test for methylester that solidifies at >10F vs Paraffin wax.
I would not be so fast to endorse this lab report nor to denigrate the veracity of the original report.
Kum Dollison (12:18:24) :
You could have asked yourself one pertinent, and glaringly, obviously begging question: “Why a couple of buses from ONE school system in an ENTIRE STATE that requires 2% Bio in ALL of its Diesel?”
The question is not pertinent at all.
The report you cited states that these were the busses with fuel filters not mounted on the engines and therefor colder. It does not matter if the clogging agent is paraffin wax or a similar melt point methylester, the hotter fuel filters in the other busses is what would protect against either. Ditto other cars, truck, trains, etc. Who’s hot, who’s not.
You cannot disambiguate between a paraffin causality or a methylester causality based on the mechanical differences between the busses. (Nor by observing melting of a ‘wax substance’… they need a specific chemical test to tell them apart, and the report does not show that being done.)
Kum Dollison (13:41:02) :
“Paraffin” is from Diesel. Glycerol is from Bio. This was Paraffin. This was from the “Diesel” component. The bio had nothing to do with it.
That is not clear at all. Glycerin ought NEVER to be in biodiesel. It is a BAD contaminant from poor procedures. (I have made biodiesel, BTW). IF there were every any glycerin in a batch of biodiesel it would be a gross error (they would have skipped the ‘wash’ step with counter flow water stripping…)
The report says they looked for what ought not to be there and did not find it. Surprise? No. The report does not say that they looked for high melt point methylesters that very well might be there
They did not test for methyl ester and they did not test for unsaturated vs saturated and they did not test for chain length. All needed tests to have some clue what the ‘wax substance’ was.
Wax Substance from Bio:
Make a batch of biodiesel from cow tallow and it will set up at darned near room temperature! Don’t even think of running it below about 50F.
From:
http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/CAOL/transport/publications/biodiesel/biodiesel4.htm
table 8 we get the melting point of methyl stearate as 39.1C
It’s a 22 carbon long straight backbone with a methanol stuck on the end. Was the biodiesel sourced from old hamburger grease? This, BTW, is a ‘well known problem’ among “yellow grease” users. (Yes, there is a hierarchy of used cooking fats with folks always trying to get the WVO and not the YG. WVO is waste vegetable oil.)
Change that to a 16 long polyunsaturated plant oil and you have a nice kink or two in the middle that slows crystal formation. Maybe down to 10F if you are lucky. You could probably get 0F out of a dilute mix with dino Diesel. Maybe. With heat.
also From:
http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/CAOL/transport/publications/biodiesel/biodiesel4.htm
we have a chart of common biodiesels and their cloud points. Notice that only RME (Rape Methyl Ester, used in Europe) in table 6 is significantly below 0C at -4C; while D2 is -15 to -25C. The most likely biodiesel in the USA is SME (Soy Methyl Ester) at -0.5C cloud point.
See the problem? Unless they did a very selective filter for specific fatty acids you end up with some components that make a ‘wax substance’ at freezing temperatures.
None of the supplier’s other customers had any problems. Could this have been a case of a local school system using up some old “summer” diesel?
I don’t think so. Summer Diesel ought to be a problem even with a warm fuel filter (the fuel lines from tank to engine are not heated. At 10F you are starting ‘gel’ problems with summer diesel and the fuel lines on both busses would need warming. Happened to me at Tahoe with #2 at 10F.)
Kum Dollison (14:33:38) :
And, Anthony, you might have put in a little update, but that Headline is still there in Extra-Bold, read-all-about-it Type:
COLD WEATHER + GREEN FUEL = YELLOW BUS FAILURE
At least you could change that.
REPLY: If you can prove to me that the biodiesel mix delivered to this school system did indeed have the paraffin wax inhibitor, then I would consider the fuel itself cleared of any issue[…]Anthony
I don’t think you can say that it’s cleared even with an inhibitor. Even with an additive, we don’t know what the ‘wax substance’ was. We do know that the fuel had 2% xME and that has a higher cloud point than D2.
Kum Dollison (14:53:03) :
Anthony, read what’s been written. It WAS the fuel. It just wasn’t the “Bio” part of the fuel.
REPLY: I have read it. The issue is: “is biofuel-diesel mix reliable in this situation”?
I can tell you from personal experience as a bioDiesel enthusiast who has used it for over 20 years (had to make my own in the beginning…) it is NOT as reliable as dino Diesel in the cold. It is fairly easy to make your vehicle cold tolerant with fuel heaters, but the ‘dump and go’ mentality of our government mandates will strand people by the side of the road.
This will eventually be fixed with the hydrogenated oil biodiesels made in the oil refineries, but it will take a while for this to be figured out.
I did a news article search looking for other similar news events, such as “semi trucks stranded, buses stranded, etc” and found none.
It’s ‘dog bites man’. Folks are always having fuel gel / cloud issues as the season shifts (on a one off basis). It’s when a fleet (or a specific vehicle type in a fleet) goes down that it’s news. Ask any cold weather trucker about fuel warming procedures…
If you can show me that this biodiesel mix was just as good in cold weather as regular diesel used in regular trucking, then I have no problems making a change. – Anthony
IMHO, the only thing you ought to do is put up the lab report along with the discussion point that they may have blown the test (as I described above). I don’t see Bio as ‘off the hook’ at all based on what the lab says they did. I think you can see from the Canada link, Figure 6, that the cloud and pour points are not as good and get worse with concentration. They are also highly variable with feedstock used to make the biodiesel.
Again from the Canada report, section 4.4 Cold Flow:
“All biodiesel fuels exhibit poor cold flow properties with Cloud and Pour points 10 to 150C higher than those of D-2”
(That 150C is undoubtedly supposed to be 15degreesymbolC)
While I want bioDiesel to be available on every street corner, I do not want the market destroyed by folks thinking they can run it at -10F with no issues. That will just kill the fuel market for all the wrong reasons.
And yes, I do own biofuels and biodiesel stocks. PSUD, OOIL, VRNM, RTK for future growth along with oil companies: PCZ, PBR, PGH, PWE (Mostly Canada oil trusts for the dividends).