Biodiesel 

Research Shifts 

into High Gear

ing a series of five educational workshops this summer

to familiarize people with biodiesel and its benefits. The

1-day workshops are designed to provide access to

high-quality information on biodiesel feedstocks, production, economics, operational issues, and emissions to

fleet managers, local air quality regulators, Clean Cities

stakeholders, and the public. With the recent release of

the alternative fuel vehicle credit for fleets using B20

(see article on p. 4), part of each workshop is devoted to

explaining the nuances of the new rule. Workshops

were held in Bloomington, Minnesota, on May 17 and

18; College Park, Maryland, on June 16; and Diamond

Bar, California, on July 20. Future workshops will be

held in Providence, Rhode Island, on August 25, and

Chicago, Illinois, on September 15. For more information, contact Cricket Pierce at 303-275-4326.

Volume 2, Number 3 Summer 1999

1999 is proving to be a good

year for biodiesel. This fuel is an

effective substitute for and additive to diesel fuel in compression

ignition engines, and because of its

environmental benefits has found niche markets in

some heavy-duty fleets, marinas, and national parks.

DOE-supported researchers are working with the

U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National

Biodiesel Board (NBB) to address some of biodiesel’s

commercialization challenges and set some research and

development priorities. Earlier this year a Biodiesel

Research Coordination Meeting was held in Chicago to

address topics such as emissions, engine performance

and technologies, and processing methods for biodiesel.

Short-term research priorities include developing and

demonstrating process technologies that use low-cost oil

and grease sources, and developing NOx emissions

reduction technologies.

Additionally, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) Biodiesel Project and NBB are sponsorBiodiesel-powered 24-foot Zodiac “Sunrider,” which sailed

around the world in 1994.

page 1

National Biodiesel Board/PIX07616 

What Is Biodiesel?

Biodiesel is a domestically produced renewable fuel that is made by reacting alcohol

(usually methanol or ethanol) with vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled cooking greases.

It can be used neat (pure) or in blends (the most popular is a 20% biodiesel blend) with

any type of diesel fuel.

Biodiesel has 90%–95% of the energy content of #2 diesel fuel. It contains no aromatics

or sulfur, has a high cetane number (which gives it good ignition capabilities), and is a

superior lubricant. It reduces emissions of many exhaust pollutants such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulates. A recent life cycle assessment, Overview of Biodiesel and

Petroleum Diesel Life Cycles (available at www.ott.doe.gov/biofuels/pubs.html), indicates

that net emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are very low.

Advantages of Biodiesel

• It can be used in most diesel engines without modifications or retrofits.

• It reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

• It can help reduce air pollution and related public

health risks.

Disadvantages of Biodiesel

• It is much more expensive than petroleum diesel.

• It is more sensitive to cold weather than petroleum

diesel.

• It apparently increases nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions

in most engines. continued on page 2
Nitrogen Oxide Emissions

Biodiesel is thought to increase NOx emissions in

diesel engines, possibly because of its oxygen content.

But according to Shaine Tyson, manager of the Biodiesel

Project, this may not be the case. A program that started

last year indicates that not all types of biodiesel increase

NOx to the same degree. “Preliminary results are very

promising,” says Tyson. “Biodiesels from different feedstocks affect emissions differently. Vegetable oil-based

biodiesel caused higher NOx emissions than did fuels

composed of animal fats and recycled grease, and all the

fuels had about the same oxygen content—10%–11%.

Very low NOx emissions appear to be associated with

very large particulate matter reductions.”

Low-Cost Solutions

Biodiesel has limited market potential until its cost

can be reduced. Several producers and academic groups

have offered to share their information on biodiesel processing technologies with NREL in a joint effort to find

low-cost solutions to biodiesel production. DOE has

responded to this issue by releasing a request for proposals that identifies the research targets for a new oil

crop that can produce larger supplies of low-cost

biodiesel feedstocks. Selection criteria outlined in the

request state that the crop must:

• Be inedible and have no value as an industrial feedstock.

• Be produced for less than $0.09/lb at the farm gate

and have the near-term potential to reduce costs to

less than $0.07/lb.

• Yield 2,000 lb/acre, with the potential to produce

more than 2,400 lb/acre.

• Have an oil content of 25%–40%; the non-oil fraction

(which should already have a large or diversified market) should have a market value of at least $0.13/lb.

• Have high levels of oleic, erucic, and palmitoleic

acids, and less than 5% levels of other fatty acid compounds.

• Be able to support the production of 3 to 10 million

acres over time.

Printed with a renewable-source ink on paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, including 20% postconsumer waste.

Biodiesel Research Shifts into High Gear (continued)

Diesel plus Ethanol: 

A Marriage Made in the 

Midwest 

It’s called oxydiesel, and it’s a

blend of 80% diesel,

10% corn-derived

ethanol, and 5%

proprietary blending agents and

additives that prevent the two fuels

from separating.

This fuel, developed by Pure Energy Corporation of

New York, is being demonstrated in two separate projects: Archer Daniels Midland is testing two Mack trucks

(with a third control truck that runs on standard diesel

fuel) for 1 year and 100,000 miles; and Chicago Transit

Authority is testing it in 15 urban transit buses. Both

projects use oxydiesel in unmodified diesel engines,

which will undergo extensive evaluation for durability

and wear following the test period.

Preliminary results indicate that oxydiesel can reduce 

-80

-60

-40

-20

0

20

Emissions Differences between Biodiesel and No. 2 Diesel

Percent change emissions/bhp-hr

Particulate matter

Soy Canola Yellow Lard Edible Inedible

Grease Tallow Tallow

NOx

page 2

“The additive... represents a significant breakthrough

in blending two very different fuels such as ethanol

and diesel. We will be able to take full advantage of

the benefits of each fuel to create a new cost-effective,

low-emission diesel fuel that can be used in both new

and existing diesel engines.”

Irshad Ahmed, Senior Vice President 

and Chief Science Officer, Pure Energy Corporation

GMC WIM-64T ethanol powered

heavy-duty truck.

National Biodiesel Board/PIX07623
Beginning in early 1998, the Medford (New Jersey)

Township Public Schools voluntarily started a 4-year

demonstration program for B20 (made from soybeans).

In its fleet of 40 buses, 20 are operated on B20; the rest

are diesel controls. Most of the program cost is covered

by DOE, which paid to install a new fueling tank and

for the incremental cost of the fuel. The State of New

Jersey has made in-kind contributions.

“There was plenty of skepticism about the program at

first,” says Joe Billuck, maintenance and operations manager. “Drivers did not want to relinquish the comfort

level they had with petroleum diesel. But with B20 they

didn’t have to. The vehicles operate the same way, there

are no engine modifications, no special infrastructure

requirements, and (after 18 months) no fuel-related operational problems. So far everyone is positive about the

fuel, and likes the fact that exhaust from these vehicles

does not have the same bad odor as petroleum diesel.”

The fleet also conducts dynamometer tests to document emissions changes on these vehicles. The final

results are more than 2 years away, but preliminary data

suggest reductions in total hydrocarbons, particulate

matter, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides. There is

a slight increase in tailpipe carbon dioxide emissions.

So why use B20? Because it works. Because it reduces

odors. Because it reduces emissions. Because there may

soon come a time, speculates Joe Billuck, when school

bus fleets may be subject to federal and state air quality

requirements, and being ahead of that game can only be

a good thing.

Initial Criticism Turns to Praise

The bus fleet includes a very important vehicle—a bus

that transports mentally and physically handicapped children ages 3 to 12 to and from school. Early in the program, its driver told Joe Billuck that he had made an

unwise decision to use B20. After all, he was under no

federal or state requirement to use it, and there was no

monetary gain associated with the program. A couple of

months later this driver apologized. She explained that,

during the winter months, the children in wheelchairs

have to wait for the lift near the exhaust pipe to load onto

the bus while the engine idles to keep the cab warm. The

fumes from diesel fuel were quite noxious; the B20 fumes

have a much more pleasing odor and less toxicity. “These

kids have so much to deal with already,” said Billuck.

“I’m glad we can make their bus trips a little easier.”

particulate and nitrogen oxide emissions from heavyduty vehicles by as much as 40%. It is readily biodegradable, has lower ash and sulfur contents than diesel, and

performs well at low temperatures. Initial cost estimates

indicate that oxydiesel will cost only a few cents more

per gallon than conventional #2 diesel fuel.

According to Archer Daniels Midland, if oxydiesel

were to achieve the same market penetration as ethanolblended gasoline (currently 12%), the additional demand

for ethanol would exceed 486 million gallons annually.

“The successful blending of ethanol and diesel

fuel will reduce harmful emissions from trucks

and buses, and stimulate the agricultural 

economy and the ethanol industry in Illinois 

and across the nation.”

Illinois Governor Jim Edgar

The ASTM 

Provisional Standard 

for Biodiesel

In December 1998, the American Society for

Testing and Materials (ASTM) approved a provsional standard for biodiesel used as a transportation fuel. For more information, contact

Steve Howell at the National Biodiesel Board

(800-541-5849, or visit the web site: www.

nbb.org).

This standard (ASTM PS 121) distinguishes

fuel-grade methyl esters (the chemical name for

bio-diesel) from industrial-grade methyl esters,

and can be used for as long as 2 years while the

precision and accuracy data for each test method

are generated to support the final standard.

page 3

Voluntary Biodiesel 

Demonstration Program 

a Success
NONPROFIT

U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit No. 258

Golden, Colorado

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

National Alternative Fuels Hotline

1617 Cole Blvd, MS: 1633

Golden, CO 80401 

page 4

DOE/GO-10099-880 For more information, contact the National Alternative Fuels Hotline at 800-423-1DOE.

Produced for the National Biofuels Program, Office of Fuels Development, U.S. Department of Energy,

1000 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585-1121. 

In May 1999 DOE issued an interim

final rule on B20. This rule appears to

offer some very low-cost options that can

save money for federal and state fleets. A

fleet may receive one alternative fuel

credit for every 450 gallons of biodiesel

used during a compliance year. There is

no limit to the number of credits a vehicle can generate. The basic components

of the rule are:

• A covered fleet may use any heavyduty or diesel vehicle that weighs

more than 8,500 lb. 

• The fleet must use 450 gal of pure

biodiesel at 20% blends or higher during the compliance year. 

• The fleet receives no credit for the

diesel fraction of the fuel.

The limitations of the rule are:

• A fleet cannot use B20 to satisfy more

than 50% of its alternative fuel vehicle

(AFV) purchase requirements.

• The credits may not be sold or traded.

• The credits are good only for the year

they are generated, unless the fleet

uses B20 for 50% of its requirements

and purchases additional AFVs (above

and beyond its requirements). In this

case, the extra AFV purchase credits

carry over into following years, and

may be sold or traded.

The B20 AFV credit option meets the

Energy Policy Act’s (EPACT) objective of

reducing our dependence on imported

petroleum by requiring fleets to purchase

fuel if they select the option. According

to the National Biodiesel Board, B20

vehicles will displace more petroleum

than will light-duty EPACT passenger

vehicles because diesel engine vehicles

consume more fuel.

4th Biomass Conference 

of the Americas

August 29–September 2

Oakland, California

www.nrel.gov/bioam

10th International 

Rapeseed Congress: 

New Horizons for an Old Crop

September 26–29

Canberra, Australia

Phone: +61-2-6257-3299

email: rapeseed@acts.ccmail.

compuserve.com

3rd European Motor Biofuels Forum 

October 10–13

Brussels, Belgium 

Phone: +31-30-6933-489

Fax: +31-30-6917-394 

email: info@europoint-bv.com

Upcoming

Conferences

and Events

“Although biodiesel is more expensive

than conventional diesel fuel, agencies

could save money if they chose to use

biodiesel fuel mixtures... because

agencies would incur no additional

capital costs.... Such savings would

average about $10 million a year.”

Congressional Budget Office

A Breakthrough for

Biodiesel: An Interim 

Final Rule on B20