Biodiesel Use Grows
As fuel costs skyrocket, is it finally time to consider alternative fuels?
Jim Beach
Contributing Editor
The National Biodiesel Board thinks the time is now for alternative fuels. The organization says more truckers are using the "renewable" biodiesel as its price comes down and straight diesel fuel prices go up. The NBB says use of biodiesel has increased dramatically over recent years, from about 500,000 gallons sold in 1999 to an estimated 25 million gallons sold in 2003.
Charles "Shorty" Whittington, president of Grammer Industries in Grammer, Ind., runs 25 company trucks and about 150 owner-operators hauling anhydrous ammonia and other products. Whittington has been using B5 – a blend of 5 percent biodiesel and 95 percent No. 2 diesel in some of his company trucks as well as in his personal vehicle, a diesel-powered Jeep Liberty.
He believes so much in biodiesel that he and his son hope to open the first biodiesel production facility in the state of Indiana by the end of the year or the first of next year.
"We are going to do the B100 (100 percent biodiesel) and sell it to distributors who will take it and mix it with petroleum diesel fuel and then sell it to the trucking industry," he says. They expect to produce 10 million gallons of biodiesel a year once at full production. "I'm quite excited about it. I think this is a sleeper for the trucking industry."
Whittington serves as a vice chairman of the American Trucking Associations and he says he spends a lot of time talking up the benefits of biodiesel, trying to convince the skeptics of the fuel's viability. "The biggest problem biodiesel has today is that it's gotten some bad publicity and some bad information out there in the marketplace." And some producers have put out an inferior product. But the biodiesel industry has now set standards for producing the fuel that should weed out the "snake oil" salesmen, he says. "I think once we start going off those ground rules it's going to take off. With diesel fuel going up a dollar in the last 60 days, more people will be willing to try it. I just think it's a pretty neat thing for America."
Whittington notes that commercial truckers still have some misgivings about the fuel. "A lot of people think this is a boutique fuel," he says. "They just don't understand the fuel. It is a fairly new commodity. In 1999, there were 500,000 gallons of biodiesel produced in the U.S. They are expecting somewhere between 100 million and 150 million gallons to be produced this year and by the end of 2006, that will likely triple again. We are on a new frontier, with people using it and seeing results."
Biodiesel offers a way of reducing the nation's dependence on imported oil, and Whittington sees great benefits from that. "I think if we manage our fuel the right way, this has the potential to stretch the petro-diesel business so we don't have such a tough demand on it. It won't go through such price spikes as we've seen in the last few months. But we are probably a year or two years from being there."
One thing still holding the fuel back is lack of production. That's why Whittington has been pushing ATA to recommend using B5 instead of B20, which offers greater emissions benefits. "We don't want to create a B20 demand right now, when we may struggle to keep up with demand for the B5."
The price of biodiesel, which is now about the same as No. 2 diesel in some areas, could continue to drop as its use becomes more widespread. And this spring, researchers with the Agricultural Research Service reported finding a way to cut costs in biodiesel production. In the United States, soybean oil provides the feed stock for most biodiesel production. The high cost of soybean oil means a high cost for biodiesel. But researchers found a way to eliminate using hexane gas in extracting soybean oil from soybeans, which could significantly reduce the cost of biodiesel production.
Another recent development that could bring down the cost of biodiesel is a new process developed by the University of Missouri-Columbia that creates antifreeze from domestic soybeans. The process converts glycerin, a byproduct of biodiesel production into propylene glycol. The researchers say the process could reduce the cost of both anti-freeze and biodiesel since glycerin is cheaper as a feedstock than propylene glycol. And since glycerin is a by-product of biodiesel production, using it to make propylene glycol can reduce the production cost of biodiesel as much as 40 cents per gallon.
Biodiesel producers and users will also benefit from tax breaks and other credits included in the recently signed Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct). The bill includes a number of incentives aimed at improving biofuel technologies and increasing the amount of biofuels used in the U.S. (Biofuels typically include ethanol and biodiesel.)
The fuel continues to become more available. Legendary country-western musician Willie Nelson sells the fuel through his company, Willie Nelson Biodiesel. According to the NBB, Nelson has opened biodiesel pumps at a number of truckstops nationwide, beginning with Carl's Corner truckstop in Dallas last year. The NBB says more than 400 retail filling stations nationwide offer some blend of biodiesel and that more than 500 fleets use the fuel. Most of those fleets are government fleets that are required to use clean fuels.
Government actions may also spur use of the fuel. As of September this year, Minnesota requires diesel fuel sold in the state to be blended with 2 percent biodiesel. The move follows a bill promoted by the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association and passed by the state legislature in 2002. The rule will create an immediate annual demand of 16 million gallons of biodiesel. The soybean oil needed to meet this demand would require more than 11 million bushels of soybeans. The state has a biodiesel production capacity of 63 million gallons.
NATSO, the association representing truckstop operators, opposed the Minnesota action, saying it would raise the cost of fuel sold in the state.
In Canada, the Ontario Trucking Association says it will continue to fight movements by the provincial government to mandate biodiesel blends. The OTA says it has three main concerns including fuel quality standards, the possibility of increased NOx emissions in new EGR engines and uncertainty about the fuel's impact on 2007 and 2010 engines.
Emissions Authority continued...
