Tapping into biodiesel; Biodiesel fuel fuels student's win at science fair, State Legislators Study Farm Issues With Care

Tapping into biodiesel
Berkshire Eagle - Pittsfield,MA,USA
Yesterday, it accepted its first shipment of biodiesel, an environmentally friendly mixture of fossil fuel and vegetable-based fuel. ...

Tuesday, March 28Brown Oil Co. in
Dalton is turning green.

Yesterday, it accepted its first shipment of biodiesel, an environmentally friendly mixture of fossil fuel and vegetable-based fuel.

Chris Swindlehurst, owner of Brown Oil, said he is the first Berkshire County distributor to make biodiesel available to customers who use home heating oil or who drive diesel-powered vehicles.

Mike Lipton, operations manager at rival Lipton Energy, said offering biodiesel represents the future for energy distributors.

"It is something we will eventually do," Lipton said. "Everyone will. It's just a question of when."

Swindlehurst said Brown Oil initially will sell a 5 percent blend of soybean-derived biodiesel and regular petroleum-based diesel. In fuel parlance, that would be a B5 biodiesel blend. Brown Oil will get the biodiesel from Sprague Energy of East Greenbush, N.Y.

Swindlehurst said he realizes that anything new can create uneasiness among consumers. "I'm a little nervous about public opinion, but I decided to bite the bullet and go ahead and do it anyway," he said. "It's a cleaner, more environmentally friendly product, and it's made here in the U.S. by U.S. workers."

Biodiesel can be produced in a variety of ways. Even used cooking oil from restaurants is being filtered and used in diesel engines by some, although unused soybean oil has a lower point of coagulation and, therefore, burns better in colder climates.

Swindlehurst said that, although it is doubtful the United States could ever produce enough biodiesel to eliminate the use of fossil fuels, biodiesel can substantially reduce the pollutants emitted by diesel engines and decrease our dependence on foreign oil.

Swindlehurst said his B5 blend is available now to home heating oil customers. He said it costs him an extra penny per gallon, an increase that he will not pass on to his customers. In less than a month, he plans to offer the blend to customers who use diesel vehicles. A few months down the road, he will add a 20 percent blend, or B20, mixed with a low-sulfur petroleum to his offerings, for a higher price.

According to a report by the U.S. Department of Energy, the higher the blend, the lower the emissions.

At 100 percent, "biodiesel reduces the net carbon dioxide emissions by 78.45 percent compared to petroleum diesel. For B20, carbon dioxide emissions from urban buses drop 15.66 percent," the report said.

Jamie Cahillane, director of recycling services at the Center for Ecological Technology (CET), uses biodiesel in his car whenever he can. CET also uses the fuel in its truck. "There are definitely advantages to using it," he said. "And if commercial fleets or school buses could make the switch, it would have a much bigger impact."

Now that Brown Oil is making biodiesel available in the Berkshires, Cahillane said it will be easier for him and CET to use it more often.

"It smells a lot better and runs a lot cleaner," he said.

Any late-model diesel vehicle can run on biodiesel without a mechanical conversion, Swindlehurst said. And home heating furnaces also will burn the fuel without any need for additional conversion.

Sprague Energy opened the first biodiesel distributor terminal in the Northeast last week. Andy Lynch, Sprague's communications manager, said the biodiesel is being brought in by rail from producers in the Midwest.

Lynch said Sprague sold its first 40,000 gallons in less than a week and had to refill its tanks yesterday afternoon.

Biodiesel fuel fuels student's win at science fair
Noblesville Ledger - IN, USA
NOBLESVILLE -- Drew Ahner helped make a biodiesel fuel that won him first place in the regional science fair and will help his parents save money running the ...

Forest Hill 4th-grader makes vegetable-oil fuel for family's farm tractor.

By Chris Sikich
Chris.Sikich@TheNoblesvilleLedger.com
March 28, 2006

NOBLESVILLE -- Drew Ahner helped make a biodiesel fuel that won him first place in the regional science fair and will help his parents save money running the family farm.

The Forest Hill Elementary fourth-grader won the Central Indiana Regional
Science Fair March 21 at the University of Indianapolis for his project,
Biodiesel: An Economical, Environmentally Friendly Solution for High Fuel
Costs.

In December, Drew's father suggested the family use biodiesel fuel instead of
diesel for their tractor. Andy Ahner said his son jumped on the Internet and
found Web site after Web site detailing how to make the fuel.

Drew made the fuel but his father, a process engineer at Diversified Systems
in Indianapolis, supervised. Andy Ahner said materials used in the process are
dangerous, so his main focus was to make sure his son wasn't working too
fast."He knows this stuff and he has phenomenal recall when it comes to
reading technical information, being able to recite what is needed and being
able to apply it," Andy Ahner said of Drew.

The two used vegetable oil from area restaurants, and through a three-week
chemical process made biodiesel fuel. While they made a small amount for the
science fair, they plan to build a facility this summer to make 200 gallons a
week. It costs 63 cents a gallon to make, excluding electricity.

According to AAA Hoosier Motor Club, diesel in the Indianapolis area is
selling for $2.55 per gallon, up 30 cents from $2.25 a year ago.

Aside from saving his family money on the 400-600 gallons of diesel they
expect to use this summer, Drew hopes to pique the interest of area farmers.

"We're planning to make it and sell it for my college money," said Drew, an
aspiring mechanical engineer.

He said biodiesel fuel is more environmentally friendly than diesel. Instead
of thick black smoke, he said the tractor lets off the smell of french
fries.

"Diesel fuel is hard on the environment," Drew said, noting the biodiesel
fuel wouldn't harm the ozone layer.

There are other advantages for farmers. "Biodiesel fuel gets a little better
gas mileage and higher horse power," he said.

Drew said people also ask him if the fuel will work in their cars. "I've
always thought that was well explained in the word 'biodiesel,'" he said. "It
only burns in a diesel engine."

His teacher, Jason Pearson, has never seen a student like Drew, calling him
way beyond the typical fourth-grader mentally.

"You don't see too many kids have the depth of knowledge that this kid has,"
Pearson said, noting his challenge is to make sure he's not moving too slowly in
class for Drew.

Pearson said growing up on a farm and gaining real experience probably helps
Drew in class.

Drew said he helps out in just about every aspect on the family's 16-acre
farm.
The family raises horses and uses the tractor to farm a 10-acre hay
field, as well as nearby fields they farm contractually.

"Drew's my tractor man," Andy Ahner said. "He's been doing that for two years. I don't think I spend any time at all baling hay; he did all of that."

State Legislators Study Farm Issues With Care
Harrisonburg Daily News Record - Harrisonburg,VA,USA
... to address.". Another debate in the General Assembly this winter, Lohr said, addressed production of biodiesel fuel. Progress in ...