Biofuel Blog War

An interesting piece was posted on the AgWeb.com web site that I thought made a pretty good argument in the food-versus-fuel debate.
Greg Anderson, a family farmer who grows soybeans near Newman Grove, Nebraska (and serves as an ex-officio member of the United Soybean Board Executive Committee) makes some pretty strong arguments that there is not [...]

City vehicles in Jacksonville, Florida’s will be running more and more on biodiesel… and the green fuel will help clean up the city’s waste.
This story from the Jacksonville Business Journal says the city is making 100 percent biodiesel at its fuel depot and mixing it to B20 to run in its diesel-powered vehicles:
Fleet management picks [...]

A recent announcement was made by Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm and Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth Director Keith W. Cooley that will allow funding for E85 infrastructure at fourteen retail facilities throughout Michigan. This endeavor is part of an initiative that will bring more renewable fuels to the state.
“Investing in alternative [...]

Record rain and flooding has left acres of ravaged farmland in Missouri, Indiana and Iowa this month. The Iowa Farm Bureau has estimated crop losses in that state alone to amount to $3 billion. But, leaders of the Iowa Corn Growers Association and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board say though they expect corn and soybean [...]

The USDA Planted Acreage report out Monday was good news, although it does not yet reflect the damage from Midwest flooding.
Corn planted area is reported to be 1.31 million acres more than was estimated in the March intentions report at 87.3 million acres, down just 7 percent from last year. That is the second [...]

Another representative of Fagan Incorporated has joined the ranks in the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council. Matt Sederstrom of Platinum Ethanol is a new board member, elected at EPIC’s first annual meeting earlier this month.
Matt says he hopes to drive a solid cohesiveness in the ethanol industry, bringing more members and industry partners together for [...]

Lack of warranty support for biodiesel has been a major stumbling block for new diesel owners who want to start using the fuel. But three long-awaited ASTM specifications could help change that.

Automakers and engine manufacturers have been requesting a finished blend specification for B20 biodiesel blends for several years, with some citing the need for that spec as the single greatest hurdle preventing their full-scale acceptance of B20 use in their diesel vehicles.

On June 19th, after more than five years of research and discussion, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) finally approved the following specifications for biodiesel fuel:

• Changes to the existing B100 biodiesel blend stock specification (ASTM D6751)
• Finished specifications to include up to 5% biodiesel (B5) in the conventional petrodiesel specification (ASTM D975)
• A new specification for blends of between 6 percent biodiesel (B6) to 20 percent biodiesel (B20) for on and off road diesel.

If that’s gibberish to you, here’s the take home message: the new specification for B6-B20 biodiesel blends could prompt more automakers to fully support B20 in their new cars and trucks.

Anyone who’s ever seriously looked into buying biodiesel for a new car or truck knows that manufacturer warranty approval of biodiesel is all over the map.

For example, Chrysler supports a B20 biodiesel blend in 2007 Dodge Ram trucks like the one above—but only for use in government or commercial fleets. GM also only supports fleet use of B20, but supports B5 in all commercial vehicles as do Ford, Mercedes, and VW. (Interestingly enough Case IH and New Holland, two manufacturers of $200K+ agricultural machines both support B100.)

Automakers: Could You Please Start Supporting B20? Thank You!

Why don’t automakers provide better support for biodiesel? The most (seemingly) reasonable explanation I’ve been given has to do with biodiesel’s ability to withstand the incredibly high pressures and precise specifications of the new common rail fuel injection systems, which also could apparently impact the ability of new clean diesels to meet NOx emissions standards.

But I’m going to need to see some numbers before I buy that, since biodiesel is already cleaner burning than diesel fuel anyway. I’m also not convinced that biodiesel wouldn’t work in high-pressure situations when diesel does.

I fired a few questions at VW about this, after test-driving the new clean diesels earlier this month. All I got was:

“There are studies taking place that suggest we won’t authorize anything beyond B7.”

and:

“Anything higher than a B7 mixture may degrade the burn thus the potential for negatively impacting emissions”

The keyword there is may. I’ve never seen any evidence that biodiesel would not work at a B20 blend in these newer engines, and hopefully these new standards will further ease any concerns automakers might have.

Final Words:

The new ASTM spec for B6 – B20 is a major building block in GM’s efforts to elevate biodiesel as part of our overall energy diversity strategy.

-John Gaydash, Director of Marketing for General Motors Fleet and Commercial Operations

Posts Related to Biodiesel and Biodiesel Warranty Issues:

• Biodiesel Mythbuster 2.0: Twenty-Two Biodiesel Myths Dispelled
• MYTH (Or Fact?) #23: Biodiesel is Raising Food Prices
• Biodiesel Powered Earthrace Beats Around the World Record by 14 Days
• Top 15 Unexpected Uses For Biodiesel
• How Biodiesel Fuel-Cells Could Power The Future (And Your Car)
• Study: Buying Biodiesel May Be A Gamble
• 6 Ways To Find And Use Biodiesel Anywhere
• Biodiesel Guide: 7 Steps to Buying a Diesel

More: http://nbb.grassroots.com/08Releases/ASTM_final/

[Via]

Photo Credit: skidrd via Flickr under Creative Commons License

Around the World in 60 Days

The sleek tri-hull Earthrace eco-boat, has beaten the world speed record for a powerboat to circumnavigate the globe.  The biodiesel powered craft traveled 24,000 nautical miles in 60 days, 23 hours and 49 minutes, finishing its journey by crossing the finish line in Sagunto, Spain.

That beat a record set in 1998 by the British boat, Cable and wireless Adventurer.

According to a news release from Earthrace, skipper Pete Bethune, a former oil worker, had this to say about the achievement:

“We’re completely stoked to have achieved something so incredible,” says Bethune.
“Earthrace’s success has proved that any form of transport, including marine, can be nondamaging to the environment as well as being high performance. It is still early days for alternative fuel and there are issues that need to be addressed by those with the power to make change happen. But I hope that Earthrace and her adventure highlight to the world the importance of continuing to research and develop alternative fuel sources for global use.”

The trip was not without its problems, however.  The craft hit sea debris in Palau and forced replacement of the boat’s drive shaft and propeller.  It navigated through monsoon conditions in the Indian Ocean, and bypassed a backlog of ships waiting to transit the Panama Canal.

The boat is a 24m tri-hull wavepiercer, and was built in New Zealand.

More on the Earthrace Biodiesel Boat and Biodiesel:

• NEW: Biodiesel’s New Approval Rating Could Ease Warranty Concerns
• Earthrace Biodiesel Boat Circumnavigates Globe, Aims For World Speed Record
• First Heavy-Duty Diesel Powered By Algae Biodiesel, Solazyme’s “Soladiesel”
• Biodiesel Mythbuster 2.0: Twenty-Two Biodiesel Myths Dispelled
• Top 15 Unexpected Uses For Biodiesel
• How Biodiesel Fuel-Cells Could Power The Future (And Your Car)
• Study: Buying Biodiesel May Be A Gamble
• 6 Ways To Find And Use Biodiesel Anywhere
• Biodiesel Guide: 7 Steps to Buying a Diesel

Image Credit:  Earthrace

Sixty days after it left port in Sagunto, Spain… and 14 days ahead of the previous world record… the 100 percent biodiesel-powered boat, Earthrace, has finished circling the globe faster than any other boat ever has before.
This update comes from the Earthrace’s web site:
Sagunto, Spain, 27 June 2008, 13.24 GMT: Earthrace, the world’s fastest eco-boat, [...]

DETROIT – General Motors will offer 18 flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) in model year 2009. The number of E85 compatible vehicle models available in 2009 is a sharp increase from the past following the group’s commitment to making their line at least half E85 compatible by 2012.
“We continue to believe that biofuels, specifically E85, [...]