By Tina Caparella
With cold weather approaching, the biodiesel industry has been put on notice by the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), raising a “winter weather advisory” in response to fuel quality testing results that were less than desirable.
A recently released national fuel quality testing project found that one-third of biodiesel samples pulled between November 2005 and July 2006 were out of spec for incomplete processing. This is the same issue that caused some filter clogging problems in Minnesota last winter. Cold weather can amplify problems caused by out-of-spec fuel. The testing project was co-funded by NBB and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
“NBB views these results as unacceptable,” said Joe Jobe, NBB chief executive officer. “As the industry ramps up to meet the vast increase in demand for biodiesel, this growth simply cannot occur at the expense of fuel quality.” Jobe added that the out-of-spec fuel results underscore the need for enforcement agencies to take action against those who are not producing biodiesel that meets the ASTM International Standard D6751.
As a result of last year’s clogging issues in Minnesota, NBB board members approved a comprehensive Fuel Quality Policy that directs NBB to work with all state and federal agencies with authority to regulate fuel and enforce quality. The program has made contact with all state Divisions of Weights and Measures and encouraged them to adopt the ASTM standard into laws that regulate fuel quality. According to NBB, half of the states have adopted ASTM D6751 as part of their fuel quality regulations, and 13 more are planning to adopt the specification or are studying it. Ten states currently proactively test biodiesel or biodiesel blends, including Minnesota where all diesel fuel sold in the state contains two percent biodiesel.
“All of the samples from the state’s biodiesel producers and terminals that we have collected and tested have met specifications,” said Mark Buccelli, director, Minnesota Department of Commerce Division of Weights and Measures. “We have set up a monthly schedule to collect samples at the biodiesel producers and terminals. We expect to see good results. Most of the terminals are testing every shipment of biodiesel that comes into their facilities.”
NBB has issued the following recommendations for fleet managers and other consumers to ensure they are receiving quality fuel:
• Work with a reputable supplier who will stand behind the product.
• Report out-of-spec biodiesel to the proper authorities, which can be found in the State Fuel Quality Index within the Fuel Quality Enforcement Guide on the NBB Web site at www.biodiesel.org.
Another step to assure consumers that the industry is producing quality fuel is NBB’s BQ-9000 voluntary certification program. Launched in late 2005, the program requires certified and accredited companies to possess a quality manual and quality control system, and employ best practices in fuel sampling, testing, blending, shipping, storage, and distribution. To date, there are 17 accredited producers and certified marketers, representing more than 40 percent of the biodiesel production capacity on the market. NBB expects seven more to be accredited by the end of the year.
B20 Study Shows No Increase in NOx
A National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) study concludes that vehicles using B20, a blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel, do not produce an increase in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. This is in contrast to an Environmental Protection Agency 2002 report showing a two percent increase in NOx emissions for B20.
“This is a major finding because the perceived small increase was leading some state regulatory agencies to consider banning B20,” said Robert McCormick, NREL principal engineer for non-petroleum based fuels research. “Our study helps remove a significant barrier to the expansion of biodiesel markets.”
For the study, NREL tested entire vehicles on a heavy-duty chassis dynamometer at its Renewable Fuels and Lubricants Research Laboratory. The vehicles included three transit buses, two school buses, two Class 8 trucks, and one motor coach. Using the chassis dynamometer, NREL researchers simulated both urban and highway driving for each of these vehicles. In addition, NREL reviewed previously published results for engine and chassis testing of B20.
“Our study shows that the NOx impact of B20 varies with engine design, such that some engines show a small increase while other show a small decrease,” McCormick said. “The EPA’s 2002 review was based on a data set made up primarily of data from one engine model that produces a small NOx increase. EPA uses these data to draw a general conclusion for on-highway engines that B20 causes a two percent increase in NOx.
“The chassis dynamometer testing along with the careful review of previously published data suggest that their conclusion is not correct, and that on average B20 has no effect on NOx.”
NREL’s report can be found on their Web site at www.nrel.gov/vehiclesandfuels/npbf/pdfs/40554.pdf.
Canadian Province Invests in Bioenergy
The Alberta government is committing $239 million (Canadian) over the next five years to strengthen and expand the Canadian province’s bioenergy sector by encouraging manufacturers to bring more bioenergy products such as ethanol and biodiesel to the marketplace. The investment will be used to administer the Renewable Energy Producer Credit program and will be available to eligible commercial bioenergy products processed in Alberta from April 2007 to March 2011. The investment is a key component of Alberta Agriculture’s nine-point bioenergy plan.
One program initiative already approved replaces the existing Alberta ethanol road tax exemption policy, and includes a biofuel producer credit equal to the Alberta Fuel Tax, which is currently nine cents per liter. A proposed policy initiative under the program will investigate and establish regulatory protocol with the federal government in the safe disposal of specified risk materials through appropriate bioenergy technology adaptation.
FUMPA Biofuels Receives Accreditation
FUMPA Biofuels of Redwood Falls, MN, is the latest biodiesel producer to become accredited under the National Biodiesel Board’s BQ-9000, a voluntary fuel quality control program. This makes all of the major biodiesel producers in Minnesota accredited under the program that helps companies improve their fuel testing procedures and reduces the chance of producing or distributing out-of-spec fuel.
“We are very pleased to join the ranks of BQ-9000 producers,” said Charles Neece, FUMPA Biofuels’ director, Research and Development. “The additional attention to detail and fuel quality required for BQ-9000 certification strengthens our industry.”
BQ-9000 applicants are required to provide documentation of their management commitment to quality, show a physical capability to track and ensure quality production, and present an in-plant demonstration of their documents to prove adherence to the program.
FUMPA Biofuels’ plant, with a capacity of three million gallons per year, began producing biodiesel in late 2004. The facility sits adjacent to the company’s rendering plant, Central Bi-Products, which provides one of several feedstocks used to produce the biodiesel.
Cargill Finds New Use for Glycerin
Cargill is leading efforts to commercialize a proprietary process for using glycerin as feedstock for a platform of biobased products, beginning with renewable propylene glycol. A new company is being formed for the venture. Propylene glycol is commonly used in a variety of resins, food ingredients, lubricants, cosmetics, paints, detergents, and antifreeze.
A company spokesman said Cargill already sells glycerin from its biodiesel plants and has ready access through its supply chain and other sources to enough glycerin for world-scale production of propylene glycol. Initial indications are that the new company’s propylene glycol will not require reformulation prior to downstream use. Glycerin is an abundant, low-cost co-product of biodiesel production.
Kubota, Case Approve Biodiesel Use
Kubota Tractor Corporation has approved the use of B5, a blend of five percent biodiesel and 95 percent petroleum diesel, in specified Kubota diesel-powered products. Kubota has tested and approved the use of B5 that meets the minimum requirements of ASTM International Standard D6751. The company stated that to ensure quality, biodiesel fuels or blended fuel should be purchased from a BQ-9000 accredited producer and strongly recommends compliance with appropriate handling, storage, operating, and maintenance of diesel and biodiesel fuels to ensure quality and safe handling.
Case IH has announced their engines are warranted for B5 blends and most engines are warranted up to the B20 level. The agriculture equipment manufacturer plans to factory fill every engine powering Case IH equipment with a biodiesel blend.
“It’s our policy that the only time a piece of our equipment leaves a factory without biodiesel in the tank, it’s because the fuel in unavailable seasonally, or we don’t have a source that meets our quality standards,” said Randy Baker, president of Case IH North America. The company emphasized that as long as engine maintenance procedures are followed and fuel meeting the ASTM standard for biodiesel is used, blends from B5 to B20 can be used in any Case IH engine in operation today. Recommended biodiesel blends for Case equipment is posted on the product pages of the company’s Web site at www.caseih.com/na.
New ASTM Spec Released
In a step closer toward approving a blended fuel specification for B20, ASTM International released in early October a new standard for biodiesel, D6751-06a, that adds new limits on calcium and magnesium, which can be introduced during the biodiesel manufacturing process.
The new changes specifically address the potential effects of small levels of calcium and magnesium on particulate traps used as part of the diesel exhaust after-treatment systems. Previous changes to limit sodium and potassium, used as catalysts in the biodiesel manufacturing process, passed earlier this year. Particulate traps are needed to meet Environmental Protection Agency 2007 emission standards, which reduce particulate matter by more than 90 percent from new diesel engines.
“Engine manufacturers were concerned that even very small amounts of minor compounds could build up in particulate traps and eventually cause the traps to clog,” said Steve Howell, National Biodiesel Board technical director and chairman of the ASTM task force on biodiesel standards. “The new ASTM specification addresses these concerns and demonstrates the industry’s eagerness to work with manufacturers to ensure compatibility between the equipment and the fuel.”
Although this standard covers pure biodiesel, the majority of original equipment manufacturers view the adoption of an ASTM blended fuel specification as a key component for full, universal acceptance of B20. A subcommittee vote on an ASTM B20 specification is expected in December. Depending on the results, final approval for biodiesel blend specifications could come as early as spring or summer 2007.
Nova Leases Property, Names Director
Nova Biosource Fuels, Inc., has signed an agreement with Muskogee City-County Port Authority in Muskogee, OK, to lease 28 acres in the Port of Muskogee Industrial Park for the construction of a 60 million gallon per year biodiesel facility.
“We chose the Port of Muskogee because its easy access to the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers allow us to transport biodiesel efficiently and economically,” said Kenneth T. Hern, Nova chairman and chief executive officer. Nova will begin the Oklahoma Environmental Protection Agency permitting soon and will begin construction after the permit process is complete and financing is secured.
Nova Biosource Fuels has also announced that James L. Rainey, former president and chief executive officer of Farmland Industries, Inc., and Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation, has been selected to serve on the board as a director. He will assume the seat of Paul E. Fredericks, former president of Nova Oil, who is stepping down from his position as a director.
Promotion Part of New EPA Program
Promoting the environmental benefits of renewable fuels is the focus of the new SmartWay Grow and Go program launched in late October by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Expanding the successful SmartWay Transport Partnership, SmartWay Grow and Go companies are encouraged to make commitments toward improving the environment through the use of renewable fuels.
The goal of the program is to have 25 percent of EPA’s SmartWay Transport partners using renewable fuels by 2012, and 50 percent by 2020. There are currently 481 SmartWay Transport partners, including major truck and rail carriers as well as shipping and logistics companies.
Some SmartWay partners are already responding. For example, H-E-B and Meijer are expanding the sale of renewable fuels at their retail pumps, while Coca-Cola Enterprises’ light and heavy duty fleets are expanding their use of ethanol and biodiesel as these fuels become more widely available. The program supports President George W. Bush’s national energy initiative to increase domestic energy supplies, encourage efficiency and conservation, and develop alternative and renewable sources of energy.
Turning Trap Grease into Fuel
Mike Haas, a chemist at the Agriculture Research Service (ARS) Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, PA, is working with Philadelphia Fry-o-Diesel to demonstrate that trap grease can be converted into biodiesel. In May, the Philadelphia Federal Executive Board awarded Haas a gold medal for his contributions to the project.
Trap grease, the grease that restaurants and food companies collect from their drains, currently has a limited market. According to Philadelphia Fry-o-Diesel, restaurants in southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey collect more than two million gallons of trap grease every month that must be removed at a cost of about five cents per gallon. Illegal disposal and sloppy collection often lead to clogged sewers and polluted water.
Philadelphia Fry-o-Diesel enlisted Haas to help demonstrate trap grease’s potential as a marketable biodiesel feedstock. Haas and ARS biologist Karen Scott helped characterize trap grease samples, advised the company on operation design, and analyzed the products of trial runs as they explored and improved the reaction chemistry needed to produce biodiesel. Water and solids are removed from the trap grease before it’s processed into biodiesel. Initial small-scale operations have successfully produced fatty acid methyl esters from the grease; the esters will be tested to determine whether they meet accepted biodiesel standards.
Meanwhile, a group of faculty at Western Michigan University is planning to recycle trap grease into biodiesel and fuel Kalamazoo, MI, transit buses, perhaps as early as spring 2007. The group, formed as Bronco Biodiesel, secured development funds earlier this year and plan to produce as much as 100,000 gallons per year through a facility at the Kalamazoo Wastewater Reclamation Plant. The city expects to begin using the fuel in about a quarter of its 20-bus fleet next year.
Yet Another Feedstock?
While biodiesel producers already have a large variety of feedstocks to choose from, one company is going a new route – oil extracted from distillers grains, a co-product of the ethanol production process.
Ethanol producer VeraSun Energy Corporation is claiming to be the first company to develop a large-scale commercial facility for biodiesel production from a co-product of the ethanol production process, basically creating two biofuels from the same feedstock. VeraSun saw an opportunity to use oil extracted from distillers grains, undervalued as a feed component, as a feedstock for biodiesel. According to the company, removing the oil from distillers grains both increases the value of the oil for fuel use and enhances the resulting distillers grains as a livestock feed by concentrating protein and reducing fat content.
VeraSun is evaluating locations for the 30 million gallon per year biodiesel production facility, with plans to begin construction in 2007 and start production in 2008. The company has contracted with Lurgi PSI, Inc., for design and engineering services for the biodiesel facility and with Crown Iron Works Company for oil extraction equipment. VeraSun expects to be the first to develop large-scale facilities using this technology and has filed a patent application for the production process.
Survey Shows Support for Incentives
According to a recent survey, four in five U.S. adults (80 percent) strongly or somewhat agree that national and state governments are not doing enough to promote production of biofuels. The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive and released by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, also found that 82 percent of adults say national and state government should provide financial incentives to biofuels producers to encourage the production and availability of biofuels, and more than two out of three adults (69 percent) would use American-made biofuels even if these fuels cost slightly more than conventional fuel.
Harris Interactive conducted the survey among 1,031 adults in early October.
Biodiesel Bulletin - December 2006 Render