Biodiesel: An Environmental Blending Component for Diesel Fuel in Minnesota

The biodiesel industry considers quality of the utmost importance. It has fully embraced the setting in industry consensus standards through the premier fuel standards setting body in the US-the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). ASTM PS 121, the biodiesel standard in use today, was approved in 1998. EPA has adopted the ASTM standard as many states have incorporated PS 121 into their local statues.

In the United States, biodiesel is used as both a pure fuel (B100) and as a blend with conventional petroleum-based diesel fuel (petrodiesel). There are three primary biodiesel applications today, each of a differing concentration of biodiesel and for different purposes.

The most common use is as a 20% blend with petrodiesel (B20) in order to comply with the Energy Policy Act (EPACT). Another primary use is as a pure fuel (B100) in environmentally sensitive areas (wetlands, national parks) or enclosed areas (warehouses, underground mines). A third use is as a blending stock (levels are 5% or below) as a lubricity-enhancing component of a premium diesel formulation.

Using biodiesel as a blending component for diesel fuel has environmental benefits, technical benefits and economic benefits to Minnesota agriculture and the nation as a whole. Incorporating just 2% biodiesel in 800 million gallons of on-road, off-road, farm and military diesel fuel used in Minnesota every year will have the benefits outlined below.

Environmental Benefits:

A 2% biodiesel blend in Minnesota diesel fuel each year will curtail harmful tailpipe emissions. Annually it will:

• Reduce poisonous carbon monoxide emissions by more than 800 thousand pounds.
• Reduce ozone forming hydrocarbon emissions by almost 91 thousand pounds.
• Reduce hazardous diesel particulate emissions by almost 70 thousand pounds.
• Reduce acid-rain causing sulfur dioxide emissions by more than 70 thousand pounds.

According to the EPA, diesel fuel exhaust contains harmful polycyclic organic matter (POM) that can affect the reproductive, developmental, immunological and endocrine (hormone) systems in humans and in wildlife. Burning just 2% biodiesel in Minnesota would:

• Reduce harmful and cancerous POM impacts to streams, wildlife and humans by more than 80% for the 16 million gallons of petroleum diesel that would be displaced.

Biodiesel is produced from renewable sources grown and harvested each year, such as soybeans, in what experts call a closed loop carbon cycle. Biodiesel has appropriately been called "solar power, only more feasible." Use of 2% biodiesel each year in Minnesota would:

• Reduce Life Cycle Carbon Dioxide emissions by more than 250 million pounds. That's enough to fill 5000 semi trailers.
• Extend the fossil diesel supply almost four-fold for every gallon of diesel replaced by biodiesel.

Performance Benefits:

Biodiesel provides superior fuel lubricity, even at very low blend levels. Sufficient fuel lubricity is necessary to reduce equipment wear and premature breakdown. Bench scale testing has shown that 1% biodiesel can improve the lubricity of diesel fuel 65%, which improves further as more biodiesel is added, although exact results will vary depending on the base diesel fuel stock. Based on this and other testing, Stanadyne--one of largest diesel fuel injection companies in the world--has stated:

• "Incorporation of 2% biodiesel into conventional fuel will eliminate the concerns we have with fuel lubricity."
• "Since biodiesel is a fuel, and not just an additive, incorporation of 2% biodiesel insures adequate fuel lubricity while eliminating over-dosing concerns present with other additives."

Pure biodiesel, B100, also has high natural cetane (above 50), similar BTU content and provides similar fuel economy to petroleum based diesel fuel, so incorporation at levels below 5% will be transparent to the driver of the vehicle.

Since biodiesel contains no sulfur or aromatic compounds, it can also be used to blend down these levels in petrodiesel, which may become extremely important over time.

Economic Benefits:

Inclusion of biodiesel in on-road diesel fuel at a level of 2% in Minnesota for lubricity purposes would do the following:

• Create demand for more than 16 million gallons of biodiesel.
• Utilize the oil from more than 11 million bushels of soybeans (more than 123 million pounds of soybean oil).
• Add 1.7 to 4.2 cents to the value of a bushel of US soybeans, based on economic analyses conducted by USDA-ERS and FAPRI.
• Increase gross farm income in Minnesota between $4 million and $11 million, and decrease federal outlays under the soybean marketing loan program in similar amounts.
• Potentially reduce fleet operating costs through increased equipment life.