School buses in Minnesota were not stalled because of biodiesel
Photo by Kevindooley. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.
Diesel engines have a hard time operating in the cold, whether biodiesel is involved or not. Apparently, it was this boring old truth that messed with those school buses in Minnesota recently. Early reports stated that the small percentage of biodiesel (B2) mixed into the fuel was causing the buses to not run and, therefore, schools to close. The National Biodiesel Board has issued a statement that says that biodiesel had nothing to do the mess. Instead, an independent study confirmed that something in the petroleum diesel fuel caused the problems when temperatures dropped to 20 below zero. The Minnesota Department of Commerce said that early statements by the Bloomington School District that claimed biodiesel was the culprit were incorrect. Perhaps now the state's move to B20 by 2015 will continue without further temperature-related hiccups.
[Source: National Biodiesel Board]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mapoftazifosho 3:27PM (1/27/2009)
So who is gonna get Glenn Beck to issue an apology to all the greenies for being idiots?
Reply
Bob Moffitt 4:34PM (1/27/2009)
Thanks, Sabastian, for helping to clear the air on this issue with a new post.
Well, mapo, I had a few choice words for Mr. Beck and his ilk in this post:
http://minneapolis.metblogs.com/2009/01/23/glenn-beck-and-other-biofools/
I also wrote about this in the Gas 2.0 blog, where I am now an author:
http://gas2.org/2009/01/22/some-cold-truth-about-biodiesel-in-minnesota/#comments
Reply
Squalish 11:08PM (1/27/2009)
The only reason this could possibly become an issue is by being co-opted into an idiotic war between the contemptible Glenn Beck and the apparently equally dumb "Greenies".
Gel/pour points are on a simple linear spectrum, proportional to the percentage of biodiesel, the properties of the particular type of biodiesel, and the properties of the particular type of petrodiesel. Lab results for intermediate blends between 100% biodiesel and 100% petrodiesel almost always confirm simple arithmetic. So B2 (2% biodiesel, 98% petrodiesel) is trivially different from B0 (0% biodiesel, 100% petrodiesel), regardless of what blends are used. "Fuel Additives" that promise to lower temperature allowances are usually no more effective than simply adding petrodiesel.
There is very little difference, in maintenance/parts terms, between running B100 and B0. You use basically the same gear, get basically the same performance, and in warm weather they could switch them up from one day to the next at the gas pump without you noticing (unless you're driving a 30+ year old diesel with natural rubber fuel lines).
There is no reason to use *any* biodiesel in Minnesota in the winter, one of the few places/seasons in the country that approaches cold weather problems with even cold-tolerant petrodiesel. 20 below is cold enough to screw up some petrodiesel blends, of *course* any biodiesel in the blend will make it just a tiny bit worse. On the other hand, biodiesel runs just fine in warmer states and in warmer seasons. There is every reason to run near-100% biodiesel in the summer.
"Appropriate technology" is the doctrine, perpetrated on the Green Movement by us horrible Gaia-less engineers, of using what works. Biodiesel doesn't work as well in cold weather... so don't use it in cold weather. A 2% blend won't magically screw up your tank - it will have barely any effect - but the effect will be negative. That doesn't mean you can't use plenty of biodiesel when the situation warrants it.
1 gallon of diesel saved in Minnesota is no different than 1 gallon of diesel saved in Miami.
Reply
Brn 1:19AM (1/28/2009)
"early statements by the Bloomington School District that claimed biodiesel was the culprit were incorrect."
There's an assumption here that may not be correct. I was watching the news that day. In that broadcast, the claim wasn't officially made by the Bloomington School District. It was a remark made by a worker. The media ran with it.
At a later time, did the school district make such an official statement? Possibly, but I doubt it.
Reply
Nemoudeis 9:09PM (1/28/2009)
And, for the record, anybody who's ever had to get up and go to work on a Minnesota January morning can tell you that ANY motor vehicle is difficult to get started when the temperatures start dropping into the 20 below zero range -- diesel or otherwise.
It's the extremes of the environment that is the culprit, not the fuel.
Reply
Bob Moffitt 9:53AM (1/28/2009)
Good clarification, Brn.
Point taken.
Reply
Bob Moffitt 1:37PM (2/12/2009)
The final word on this matter, from the newspaper that started the controversy:
http://tinyurl.com/b35rjj
Reply