- Biodiesel fueling stations are sprouting like weeds across
America, where production of the alternative fuel rose 66 percent in 2003.
Experts say the rapid growth of the renewable fuel will stretch the country's
tenuous petroleum supply while helping people breathe a little easier.
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- Damon Toal-Rossi of Iowa City, Iowa, jumped on the biodiesel
bandwagon after a friend outlined the benefits of using a fuel made from
soy or vegetable oil. The software programmer liked the idea of a cleaner-burning
fuel that reduces dependence on foreign oil so much that he traded in his
gasoline-powered pickup truck for a diesel-powered Volkswagen Golf.
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- After a few months of driving 10 miles to a biodiesel
fueling station, Toal-Rossi went online to find a recipe and began making
his own fuel. Because Toal-Rossi gets the primary ingredient -- used cooking
oil -- from a nearby restaurant for free, he spends just 41 cents per gallon
to make his 12-liter batches of biodiesel.
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- "I feel good about reducing my environmental impact,
and besides, it's a great fuel for my car," said Toal-Rossi, noting
that he now gets 44 miles per gallon, a big improvement over his 14-mpg
pickup.
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- Biodiesel enthusiasts like Toal-Rossi may soon find their
oil-alternative fuel easier to acquire. According to the National Biodiesel
Board, the number of consumer biodiesel fueling stations rose nearly 50
percent last year to 200. So far this year, 25 new stations have opened,
including 10 in Colorado and five in New Hampshire.
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- Ron Heck, president of the American Soybean Association,
said biodiesel can be blended with regular diesel in any ratio, or can
be used as a fuel by itself. "It has almost the same amount of (energy)
as petroleum diesel," Heck said. Using biodiesel will clean an engine's
fuel injectors and cut down on the number of required oil changes, according
to Heck. "I buy it because it's better fuel."
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- The reintroduction of diesel vehicles into the U.S. market
is expected to increase the demand for biodiesel, according to the National
Biodiesel Board's Jenna Higgins. After abandoning the U.S. market for almost
20 years, Mercedes-Benz and DaimlerChrysler are delivering new diesel vehicles
in 2004, and Volkswagen has expanded its lineup of diesel-engine vehicles.
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- Higgins said most diesel vehicles do not have to be modified
to burn biodiesel, and auto manufacturers support fueling their vehicles
with biodiesel, which burns cleaner than standard fuel.
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- Passenger vehicles, private vehicle fleets and farmers
used 25 million gallons of biodiesel in 2003, up from 15 million gallons
the previous year, and new federal Environmental Protection Agency emission
rules could further increase demand, according to Higgins.
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- Starting in 2006, the EPA will require that diesel producers
reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by removing up to 99 percent of the sulfur
content in the fuel used by passenger cars and trucks. In May 2004, the
EPA announced that these same rules would apply to diesel for off-road
vehicles starting in 2007.
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- While the EPA estimates that cleaning up the diesel will
prevent 4,300 premature deaths per year, removing the sulfur also reduces
the fuel's lubricity. Diesel producers need to regain that slipperiness
to prevent engine clogging, and biodiesel is a likely additive, according
to Galen Suppes, an associate professor of chemical engineering at the
University of Missouri-Columbia.
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- "Biodiesel is cost-competitive" with the chemical
alternatives, said Suppes, adding that a 2 percent biodiesel mix restores
lubricity. "Technology-wise, (biodiesel) is a good solution."
But Suppes said diesel refiners sometimes prefer to produce solutions internally
rather than rely on external suppliers. "It's difficult to predict
what the refiners will do."
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- The biodiesel board's Higgins said the market for the
alternative fuel could climb to more than half a billion gallons per year
if diesel refiners add just 2 percent biodiesel to their products. This
could provide the economy of scale that would lower the price of the renewable
fuel for everyone, Higgins said.
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- "Could we meet that demand instantly? No,"
said Higgins. She estimated that the 21 existing biodiesel production plants
in the United States could produce up to 80 million gallons a year, and
another 20 plants could quickly go online. Higgins said 90 percent of today's
biodiesel comes from soy oil, and 10 percent from recycled cooking oil.
Other feedstocks, such as animal carcasses, could be used to fill any gap,
according to Higgins.
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- Biodiesel currently costs between 20 cents and 30 cents
more per gallon than standard diesel, Higgins said, but pending legislation
may help to make it more economical. In May, the Senate passed a bill that
would give a 1 cent tax credit for each percent of biodiesel blended with
petroleum diesel.
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- Higgins said that if gasoline prices continue to climb
and the tax credit becomes law, biodiesel could become cost-competitive
with petroleum. "Anything that lessens our demand on foreign oil helps,"
Higgins said.
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- © Copyright 2004, Lycos, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.wired.com/news/autotech/0,2554,63635,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1
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- Or
make your OWN Biodeisel!
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