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# Nat\'l Biodiesel Board

> 3337A Emerald Ln.
>
> P O Box 104898
>
> Jefferson City, MO 65110-4898
>
> \(573\) 635-3893 *phone*
>
> \(800\) 841-5849
>
> \(573\) 635-7913 *fax*
>
> [*www.biodiesel.org*](http://www.biodiesel.org/)

NEWS

**[FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE]{.underline}**

**Contact**: Jenna Higgins/NBB

1-800-841-5849

November 14, 2002

#### 

#### EPA Releases Comprehensive Study on Biodiesel Emissions

*Dramatic Reductions in Particulate Matter, Unburned Hydrocarbons, and
Carbon Monoxide*

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
released a new comprehensive technical report of biodiesel emissions
data that shows biodiesel use can reduce emissions of particulate matter
by 47 percent when compared to petroleum diesel in unmodified diesel
engines. The report also verified a 67 percent reduction in unburned
hydrocarbons and a 48 percent reduction in carbon monoxide with pure
biodiesel (B100). While the technical report, which is a compilation of
39 separate scientific studies, is not an official rulemaking, the
release of the report by EPA provides a government-validated reference
for federal, state and local pollution strategies to reduce emissions
that are harmful to human health and the environment.

EPA prepared the report because of increasing interest in biodiesel, a
domestically produced alternative fuel that can be made from any fat or
vegetable oil. Biodiesel works in any diesel engine with few or no
modifications and has achieved a full national standard (ASTM D 6751).
More than 250 vehicle fleets use B20, a mixture of 20 percent biodiesel
with 80 percent petrodiesel, commercially nationwide. Lower level
biodiesel blends, such as B2 or B5, are used in countless pieces of
equipment from tractors to over the road semi trucks, and hundreds of
fuel distributors are now carrying biodiesel blends nationally.

"This EPA evaluation provides independent confirmation of the emissions
benefits of biodiesel, which is important for air planners and customers
who are evaluating the switch to biodiesel," said Joe Jobe, executive
director of the National Biodiesel Board (NBB). "We are pleased that the
EPA numbers are actually a little higher than our own analysis, and that
they show benefits can be obtained at any biodiesel concentration in a
mostly linear fashion, as we have been advising. We are planning to
adopt the EPA analysis so NBB and EPA will be giving out the same set of
numbers."

During the last few years, biodiesel has enjoyed commercial success as
one of the most thoroughly tested fuels in the country. "The fact that
biodiesel is so well tested actually led to some uncertainty as to which
set of emissions data was most accurate," said Steve Howell, technical
director for the National Biodiesel Board and chairman of the American
Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) Biodiesel Standards Taskforce.

"The EPA analysis takes any uncertainty out of the equation, and even
shows more incremental emissions benefits at the B20 level than for
B100. To be conservative, we have been using a straight line
relationship with blend concentration. While it remains true that
maximum emissions reduction per vehicle can be obtained with B100, for
fleets with many vehicles the EPA analysis shows a better value at
concentrations lower than B100. Using B20 in 100 vehicles will actually
reduce more pollution overall than using B100 in 20 vehicles."

To provide the comprehensive assessment, EPA analyzed 80 prominent
biodiesel emissions studies, including research performed by the U.S.
Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Lovelace
Respiratory Research Institute and Southwest Research Institute. Thirty
nine out of the 80 were used for the actual correlation. The current NBB
correlation used 8 studies. The majority of the 39 studies were
performed on heavy-duty engines. EPA then developed a set of emissions
curves based on the concentration of biodiesel. After peer review and a
planned public workshop "...to assure that our correlations represent
the best current scientific understanding of the emissions impacts on
biodiesel," the correlations will likely become the industry standard
for biodiesel. Due to the sheer volume of studies used by EPA, changes
suggested in the peer review and workshop are expected to be minor, if
any.

EPA concluded that when compared to petroleum diesel, biodiesel has the
following average effect on these regulated emissions:

  -------------------------------------------------------- ------ --------
                                                           B100   B20

  Total Unburned Hydrocarbons                              -67%   -20%

  Carbon Monoxide                                          -47%   -12%

  Particulate Matter                                       -48%   -12%

  NOx                                                      +10%   +2%
  -------------------------------------------------------- ------ --------

"When you combine these emissions benefits with reductions in other air
toxics and potential cancer causing compounds, the 78% carbon dioxide
reductions from the full life cycle analysis performed by DOE and USDA,
and the fact biodiesel is already a less than 15 parts per million
sulfur fuel---it is very positive for biodiesel," Howell said.

New diesel after-treatment technology---technology that is enabled by
fuels with less than 15 ppm sulfur like biodiesel---will very soon be
capable of reducing NOx by more than 90%. This will serve to round out
the biodiesel emissions profile for NOx. "We are working with some of
the leading edge OEM\'s on this technology right now," Howell said. "The
future for biodiesel looks brighter than ever."

*The EPA study can be viewed at*
*[www.epa.gov/otaq/models/biodsl.htm](http://www.epa.gov/otaq/models/biodsl.htm).
Readers can learn more about biodiesel by visiting
[www.biodiesel.org](http://www.biodiesel.org/). The* *National*
*Biodiesel* *Board* *is funded in part by the United Soybean Board and
state soybean board checkoff programs.*