B100 Fuel, living on BioDiesel

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January 11, 2005

Northwest is a pioneer in use of Biodiesel

Good article out today: from the DJC.COM: Alternative fuels catch on in the NW, provided by Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. One Excavator company has moved to 100% biodiesel and loves it. I wonder if he gets any LEED credits for that. He should.

Here is the full story since there was a problem with the link:

January 10, 2005

Alternative fuels catch on in the NW

By TERRY STEPHENS
Special to the Journal

Photo by Terry Stephens Earthwise Excavation burns 100 percent biodiesel fuel in its equipment, including this backhoe. The fuel reduces air pollution and improves engine lubrication.

Biodiesel fuel, made from such farm-grown products as soybeans, is still part of a new frontier in the world of alternative power supplies. But a growing number of Puget Sound pioneers are using it.

The cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia are already using biodiesel fuels in truck fleets; King County Metro Transit burns the fuel in many of its buses, along with Intercity Transit; school districts use it in their bus fleets; Washington State Ferries is experimenting with it; and businesses such as Earthwise Excavation in Snohomish and Saybr Contractors in Puyallup are using it.

"The city of Tacoma is an environmental leader in this area. We're hoping their commitment to using biodiesel will help spark other communities' interest," said Linda Graham, director of the Puget Sound Clean Cities Coalition in Seattle. The group represents public and private agencies and businesses promoting the use of alternative fuels to reduce air pollution and the nation's dependence on imported petroleum.

Three years ago, Tacoma became the first city in the Pacific Northwest to commit an entire fleet of vehicles to biodiesel when it began burning the alternative fuel in its 85 garbage and recycling trucks.

Fleet manager Steve Hennessey said the city had explored alternative fuels for some time but found most of them were too expensive, but biodiesel fuel had only a minimally higher cost. "(It enabled) us to do the environmentally right thing without spending a lot of money," he said.

The city has experienced no extra operation or maintenance problems in its three years of using the fuel, according to Hennessey.

Pricey, but earth-friendly

A 20 percent mix of vegetable oil and regular diesel in a B20 blend used by most biodiesel fuel operators in the region costs about 12 to 20 cents more per gallon than pure diesel, according to the Puget Sound Clean Cities Coalition, whereas B100 biodiesel usually costs over $1 more per gallon.

But even the higher cost of B100 hasn't kept Albert Postema from using it. His business, Earthwise Excavation in Snohomish, has converted its entire fleet of 18 trucks, backhoes, bulldozers and other excavation equipment to the pure biodiesel fuel.

"This vegetable oil fuel burns well in diesel engines, and the results are amazing," Postema said. "I was able to hook up with Alternative Fuel Works in Ballard as a supplier. We were both heading in the same direction, trying to lessen the impact on the environment from diesel fuel. By comparison with other fuels, biodiesel is almost carbon-neutral."

Using biodiesel has multiple benefits for Earthwise.

"It dramatically reduced air pollution, which is really good considering there are four major carcinogens in diesel exhaust," Postema said.

"Also, we began to notice other health benefits," he said. "Running (diesel-powered) equipment long days on a work site during the summer would often give our crews dull headaches by the end of the day. We always attributed that to working long hours on the equipment, but when we started burning biodiesel, all of the headaches from diesel fumes went away.

"Biodiesel also eliminated the acrid smoke that often accumulated on the site. Plus, the lubricating nature of biodiesel made our engines run smoother and quieter."

Commitment needed

Even so, biodiesel isn't a silver bullet, Postema said.

"Biodiesel is really impressive. Until you experience using it, you don't realize how good it is. We wouldn't ever go back to regular diesel. But you have to be committed. For one thing, we pay about $1 to $1.20 per gallon more for (100 percent) biodiesel than for regular diesel. But you have to look at the other advantages. For instance, we've gained a lot of business just because people like the idea that we're innovative and using biodiesel to improve the environment."

Postema's soy-based biodiesel supplies come from Iowa, where multimillion-dollar processing plants have been built to produce the fuel from local crops. Postema sees that potential for Washington farmers, too.

"Wheat farmers like to plant mustard as a cover crop in Eastern Washington, a crop that also happens to be a great source for biodiesel fuels. Eventually, there could be enough demand for wheat farmers to have almost a million acres in production for biodiesel fuels," he said.

Posted by Martin at January 11, 2005 10:45 AM

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Posted by: Rob Elam at January 11, 2005 06:52 PM

Posted by: ministeroforder at January 12, 2005 06:03 AM

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