closer to B-5. The blend gets pretty close
to the same mileage per gallon as standard
diesel; some fans say it does even better.
Of course, trading biodiesel for petroleum is not a perfect solution to the
troubles caused by oil consumption. With
current technology, if every car in the U.S.
switched to ethanol or biodiesel, we’d have
to increase our dependence on fossil fuels
to come close to producing enough soy
and corn. But the potential exists for these
fuels to be produced in a more eco-efficient manner. If farmers took eco-friendly
steps to preserve topsoil while ramping up
production, methods like crop rotation,
companion planting, and using organic
pesticides and fertilizers could offset some
negative effects of overplanting. At some
point, this “green” biofuel could be put
to use on farms, and the system would be
self-propagating. Regardless, biofuels are
currently a much cleaner burning option.
Switching to B-20 biodiesel reduces hydrocarbon and sulfur emissions by 20 percent,
and carbon monoxide and particulate
emissions by 12 percent.
When I spoke with a trucker who exclusively uses biodiesel, Ray “Critter” Iddings,
63, surprised me with his fervor. “If every
truck in the U.S. switched to biodiesel, we
could reduce consumption of foreign oil
by 30 percent!” he told me from his ’97
NELSON IS CONVINCED
THAT IF ENOUGH TRUCKERS
BUY AMERICAN-MADE
BIOFUEL, THE U.S. COULD
REDUCE DEPENDENCE
ON FOREIGN OIL.
Freightliner truck as he drove across Missouri. When Iddings started driving trucks
in 1965, diesel cost 19 cents per gallon,
but he’s not one to pine for the past. He
heard about biodiesel for the first time
on satellite radio, where Willie Nelson
frequently sings its praises, and made the
switch immediately. “Forget the environmental and political reasons—which are
convincing. Just look it from the pocketbook. I used to get six miles to the gallon.
With biofuel, I get seven. So I’m taking
home more money at the end of the week.”
In November, BioWillie biodiesel cost
about $2.50 a gallon, only a few cents
more than regular diesel. Strangely, most
truckers don’t buy it. The companies with
huge fleets of trucks have deals with the
larger truck-stop chains and don’t allow
their drivers to fuel anywhere else.
“We’re working on that,” say Rob Reed,
director of communications for Earth Biofuels. “By the way, did I tell you that Julia
Roberts is working with us?” Reed can be
excused for shilling, because he’s struggling
to educate consumers about the common-sense advantages of his product. To
tug at people’s consciences, Reed enlisted
the actress to endorse a campaign aimed
at convincing school boards to run the
nation’s school buses on biodiesel.
You’ve got to shuck and jive to muscle
your way into any market, especially one as
entrenched as petroleum. But momentum is
building for biodiesel. This year, the EPA will
be mandating the use of ultra-low sulfur diesel, which can be made by mixing biodiesel
into petroleum diesel. Sulfur is a critical lubricant, but it causes the putrid, black smoke
everyone associates with diesel cars. Cutting
petroleum diesel with biofuel provides the
necessary lubrication without the particulate
emissions, the smoke, or the smell.
Back on the road, Iddings was hopeful
about his future with biofuel. “Look, Old
Blue has 1,410,000 miles on her engine,”
he says, referring to his truck. “And with
biofuel, she could get another 500,000.” ■
GLOSSARY
Biofuel: Any fuel—solid, liquid, or gas—that’s derived from biomass (living organisms). Unlike petroleum or coal, biofuels are renewable resources because the
carbon they contain, which is necessary for burning, was recently extracted from the
environment by plants.
Biodiesel: A biofuel made from processed vegetable oil, cooking grease, or animal
fat. It acts much like petroleum diesel and is used in high-compression diesel engines.
Ethanol: A form of alcohol often produced from corn or sugarcane. It can be
used as an additive to—or substitute for—gasoline.
Flashpoint: The lowest temperature at which a substance will form an ignitable
mixture with air. The lower the flashpoint, the more flammable the substance. With a
flashpoint of 306 degrees, biodiesel is so safe that it’s not even recognized as a flammable
substance, plus it tends to burn better when mixed with petroleum diesel. (Gasoline,
for instance, is much more volatile.) In cold temperatures, though, biodiesel can require
heating, since gelling can be a problem when temperatures drop below 20 degrees.
B-rating and E-rating: Designations used to indicate the percentage of the fuel is
biodiesel or ethanol, respectively. (e.g., B-20 contains 20 percent biodiesel and 80
percent petroleum diesel; E-20 contains 20 percent ethanol and 80 percent gasoline.)
plentymag.com Feb/Mar/07 | 31