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Brazilian Bus Company Deploys Ethanol-B30 Biodiesel Blend in Fleet
20 October 2006
Brazilian bus company Viação Itaim Paulista (VIP) has begun powering a fleet of 1,880 buses in São Paulo, South America’s largest city, with a blend of 30% biodiesel, 8% ethanol and 62% petroleum diesel.
The fuel was developed as part of joint effort between B100—a company created by VIP to research alternative fuels—and Petrobras, Brazil’s state-run oil company. VIP estimates that it will consume 6 million liters (1.6 million gallons US) of the mixture monthly.
VIP is the first Brazilian bus company to use the ethanol-B30 mixture, and for the time being, the only one authorized to use it in the country. However, the partners expect that consumption will increase to 144 million liters per month (38 million gallons US) in two years.
The biodiesel used in the B30 is uses soy, mamona, sunflower or dendê for feedstock. B100 (the company) took two years to develop the composition of the mixture, in partnership with the National Institute of Tecnologia (INT).
The use of multiple feedstocks will enable more stable pricing, as the producers can use the feedstock currently in greater supply at lesser cost.
Brazil will start requiring that biodiesel be added to regular diesel at a rate of 2% in 2008. By the year 2013, trucks will have to run on 5% biodiesel.
US company O2Diesel has begun testing an e-diesel/B20 biodiesel blend. The addition of ethanol to diesel lowers the pour point (the temperature at which the fuel begins to gel). (Earlier post.)
October 20, 2006 in Biodiesel, Brazil, Ethanol, Fleets | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
Comments
Posted by: Max Reid | October 20, 2006 at 11:03 AM
For dendê, it is a type of African oil palm, brought over by colonists/slaves, and grown in Brazil. As far as I can tell, mamona is castor oil plant, that takes in ~34 tons of CO2 a year.
resources:
Dendê palm and Brazilian biofuel:
http://www.fbds.org.br/IMG/pdf/doc-116.pdf
_
Here is a PDF of "mamona" in another bioproduct:
http://www.undp.org/montrealprotocol/docs/Brazil_Mamona_Prsnttn.pdf
Posted by: allen_Z | October 20, 2006 at 02:11 PM
Max -
afaik ethanol is soluble in hydrocarbons. It's just injected along with the rest of the fuel. Some additive package keeps the ethanol from separating out in case there's any moisture in the tank.
The ethanol has a high latent heat value, so it's quite effective at soaking up some of the heat generated during compression and initial combustion. Lower temps mean lower engine-out NOx.
Posted by: Rafael Seidl | October 21, 2006 at 04:13 PM
It would also delay ignition, so it might require changes in injection timing for best efficiency and lowest pollution (burn too late and you get incomplete combustion and smoke).
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | October 22, 2006 at 07:18 AM
There's also E-diesel, which is 95 percent ethanol and 5 percent diesel. But how well would biodiesel mix with ethanol? Could it cause engine or fuel system problems?
Posted by: Mark R. W. Jr. | October 23, 2006 at 10:35 AM
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Another Brazilian First. Soon they will produce and popularise Bio-Diesel as well.
I am wondering how Ethanol can work in Diesel engine.
Right now, Oil prices are low, if the Summer 2007 comes, things will change again.