THE PLIGHT OF BIODIESEL
Kate Eglan-Garton
May 17, 2009
Using biodiesel as an additive to cut the high cost of diesel fuel started out as a great idea. But just like everything else that sounds like a good plan, something just always seems to go wrong.
The first problem that we discovered was that fuel and additives absolutely had to be regulated to prevent freelancers from selling īchicken fatī to government entities for their own tanks (yes, rumor has it that this actually did happen). Even now, not all companies are regulated. The government has extended certification that meets the ASTM D-6751 standard of clean, uncontaminated biofuels until the fall of 2009 and may delay again.
The second problem is the horrific amount of scientific work and the amount of money that is necessary just to produce this additive. Maximum limits and percentage of units of calcium, water, kinematics viscosity, ash content, copper corrosion, cloud point, glycerin, sodium/potassium and the newest yet, cold soak filtration, are all required to meet respective ASTM specifications before blending with diesel.
Thirdly, did anyone give any thought to how this product was going to be transported from one end of the country to the other? There are but a handful of pipelines that service the entire USA and with the different variations of fuel that is required in all of the states, it would be impossible to compromise just one pipeline to deliver 5, 10 or 20% blended biodiesel. Currently, large tankers are making the trips, terminals are readjusting their systems and holding tanks are springing up around these sites.
Which brings us to another problem. We seem to have encountered difficulties with residents who claim that holding tanks, let alone a biodiesel manufacturing plant, is somehow, going to infect their air quality and the land, next door to them, is being tied up in lawsuits. Never mind the fact that petroleum based fumes have riddled our atmosphere with contaminants for the past century.
If and when all of these hurdles are magically jumped, lawsuits are finally overturned, and millions of dollars float down from the sky for buying land and building facilities, we really should decide that it is time to begin college courses for all of the scientists, technicians and testers that are necessary to make this plan work.
I am a firm believer that biodiesel will make a positive difference in years to come but boy, wouldnīt this have been a lot easier if we had done some critical homework? They say that each new generation is more advanced and knowledgeable than the last, learning from past mistakes and using more advanced methods. Letīs hope that their foresight and planning is better than ours.
The first problem that we discovered was that fuel and additives absolutely had to be regulated to prevent freelancers from selling īchicken fatī to government entities for their own tanks (yes, rumor has it that this actually did happen). Even now, not all companies are regulated. The government has extended certification that meets the ASTM D-6751 standard of clean, uncontaminated biofuels until the fall of 2009 and may delay again.
The second problem is the horrific amount of scientific work and the amount of money that is necessary just to produce this additive. Maximum limits and percentage of units of calcium, water, kinematics viscosity, ash content, copper corrosion, cloud point, glycerin, sodium/potassium and the newest yet, cold soak filtration, are all required to meet respective ASTM specifications before blending with diesel.
Thirdly, did anyone give any thought to how this product was going to be transported from one end of the country to the other? There are but a handful of pipelines that service the entire USA and with the different variations of fuel that is required in all of the states, it would be impossible to compromise just one pipeline to deliver 5, 10 or 20% blended biodiesel. Currently, large tankers are making the trips, terminals are readjusting their systems and holding tanks are springing up around these sites.
Which brings us to another problem. We seem to have encountered difficulties with residents who claim that holding tanks, let alone a biodiesel manufacturing plant, is somehow, going to infect their air quality and the land, next door to them, is being tied up in lawsuits. Never mind the fact that petroleum based fumes have riddled our atmosphere with contaminants for the past century.
If and when all of these hurdles are magically jumped, lawsuits are finally overturned, and millions of dollars float down from the sky for buying land and building facilities, we really should decide that it is time to begin college courses for all of the scientists, technicians and testers that are necessary to make this plan work.
I am a firm believer that biodiesel will make a positive difference in years to come but boy, wouldnīt this have been a lot easier if we had done some critical homework? They say that each new generation is more advanced and knowledgeable than the last, learning from past mistakes and using more advanced methods. Letīs hope that their foresight and planning is better than ours.
Print
Email
