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Propel B99 In Use Study Finds Biodiesel Runs Equal to, if not Better than, Petro-Diesel
6 September 2008
Results of a 13-week test of delivery vehicles fueled with B99 biodiesel showed that the vehicles had no mechanical issues, ran smoother, and had reduced emissions compared to vehicles fueled with petroleum diesel.
Propel, a renewable fuels retailer, and Seattle-based The Essential Baking Company jointly performed the study. During the 13-week trial, six Essential Baking vehicles fueled with strictly B99 blend biodiesel from Propel’s Clean Fuel Points, traveled approximately 37,000 miles on 2,500 gallons of B99, with one vehicle logging more than 14,000 miles.
Vehicles selected varied in model, types of routes, and mileage driven. No vehicle failures and no operational issues were experienced. Cold weather proved not to be a problem for the vehicles, even with 32 days when the daily low temperature was below 35° F. The majority of drivers reported that the vehicles ran smoother and quieter on B99 than on petro-diesel.
Propel’s CleanDrive service, an integrated carbon emission reduction tracking platform, automatically tracked gallons used and calculated the fleet’s reduction of CO2 and other pollutants. The results indicated that the delivery vehicles:
- Reduced their output of CO2 by more than 43,000 pounds;
- Displaced 1,553 gallons of petroleum oil;
- Reduced particulate matter (PM) by 78%;
- Reduced air toxins by 60 to 90%; and
- Eliminated 100 percent of sulfur compounds from vehicle exhaust.
September 6, 2008 in Brief | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
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Comments
ok so its okay to use the food to drive the cars rather than eat? the last time i checked you couldn't eat petro based products.
if that 99% was bio WASTE then im impressed.
Posted by: philmcneal | Sep 7, 2008 12:15:59 PM
Food is "Food" and Fuel is "Fuel" because humans decide
it is one or the other. I am tired of this quasi-religious notion that a plant material that is
useful as food cannot have other uses as well.
Who is to say that market won't find the right balance
w/ the right crops going toward the appropriate role.
Before ethanol/biodiesel, surplus food rotted in silos.
Posted by: JH | Sep 8, 2008 4:57:35 AM
The study is "nice" but useless. Even if we devoted ALL of our cropland to biodiesel crops we could only replace a fraction of our diesel consumption.
Other studies have shown good improvements in emissions with low blends like B5, and that adding more bio doesn't improve it much more. So it's much better for the entire nation to use B2 B5 or B10 (or whatever is realistic given the cropland that can be dedicated to it) than for a few people to use B99.
Posted by: | Sep 8, 2008 8:35:30 AM
Even though I read this site with regularity I choose to selectively ignore major areas of alternative fuels R&D. For example algal biodiesel. Why do I do this? I am paid to do so.
Posted by: eco-teach | Sep 8, 2008 2:49:29 PM
