Pros and cons of biodiesel, now being sold in Cornwall

Part 1

CORNWALL — If anyone doubts Cornwall is in the forefront of energy-efficient initiatives, consider that it now boasts the state’s first retailer of biodiesel.

Beth and Rick Cochran have brought the alternative fuel to their Berkshire Country Store, which is off Route 4.

You can’t buy gasoline at the store. The pumps are shut down pending approval for a zone change that would allow their replacement. But drivers of vehicles with diesel engines now have not just a new source of fuel, but a "greener" choice.

The bright yellow of the pump clearly marks it as something different. A closer inspection reveals words drivers in this country are not used to seeing on fuel pumps, such as "renewable energy."

Since it was installed about two weeks ago, customers have had mixed reactions.

"Some think it’s great. They say they’ve been waiting to be able to buy an alternative fuel. Others have heard that it will damage their engine," Rick Cochran said. "This is something we really wanted to do. We looked into it thoroughly. It’s part of what we want to do here to serve our customers better."

Biodiesel, in this case "B20," a mix of 80 percent standard diesel and 20 percent plant-derived diesel, can be used in unmodified diesel engines. This is not the same as recycled fry oil [see story, Page A14], but a manufactured fuel.

There are some issues, but independent research shows they are easily dealt with, and new discoveries are being made to resolve problems such as the gelling that occurs at frigid temperatures with any diesel. Biodiesel, an even thinner fuel, is even more susceptible.Green on the road, at home

At Hale Hill Farm Biofuels, the distributor for Berkshire Country Store, Rick Hosley likes to call it solar energy, and beyond. His Branford-based company wholesales fuel and retails home heating fuel called Bioheet.

"The sun shines on the plant. The plant takes in carbon dioxide and produces oxygen. The plant is squeezed for the oil to a cleaner-burning fuel. What’s left is a base for food production, glycerin, soap and bio-degradable anti-freeze."

There are formulas to show how, although biodiesel produces more carbon dioxide emissions, the net effect is lower. Those formulas factor in the carbon dioxide used by the plants grown to produce biofuel.

That it is the next big thing is not just his opinion. It is the fastest growing energy source, with production plants springing up across the country. In Connecticut, Gov. M. Jodi Rell recently signed into law a bill that requires all state vehicles to use biofuel by 2010.

"The net reduction works out to 20 percent unburned hydrocarbons and other contaminates," Hosley said. "This is not the answer to our problems of pollution and oil dependency, but it’s a step in the right direction."Why the hesitation?

In 1893, Rudolph Diesel developed his unique engine. It ran on peanut oil. The process of converting vegetable oil to fuel, called transesterification, had been accomplished about 40 years before that. In 1937, a Belgian scientist was granted a patent for a standardized process.

So why aren’t we all driving vehicles that burn a plant byproduct?

"It’s simple," Hosley said. "Oil was an easier and cheaper way to produce fuel back when no one was thinking about emissions."

Next week: Part 2

Price is often a deterrent, even for the most environmentally minded folk. Berkshire Country Store sells B20 for $3.399 a gallon [for average fuel prices in the region, turn to Page A2]. It may seem like a big difference, but it’s about what independent retailers are forced to charge for gasoline.

Hale Hill Farm sells home heating fuel for $2.79, which is a comparable price.

Whether it’s burned in your engine or furnace, Hosley said efficiency over the long term means cost savings.

Standard home heating oil, a form of diesel fuel, produces soot that makes oil burners less efficient, Hosley said. Even cleaning once a year, as recommended, doesn’t always do the trick.

"There won’t be a difference right away, but weeks into the heating season Bioheet will be pumping out a lot more BTUs per gallon."

Hosley believes that home heating oil is now the big polluter. It still contains significant levels of sulphur, lead and mercury that were required to be removed from road diesel. Home heating oil is a significant portion of the 50 billion gallons of diesel Americans burn annually.Making a gradual change

There are some valid concerns about using biodiesel, he conceded. It can, for example, cause engine problems. One of biodiesel’s desirable properties is that it is an excellent solvent and lubricant, which means its use will likely extend engine life. But when used in an engine that has been running on standard diesel, it may clear fuel line deposits, a good thing — but carry those deposits into the engine, where they can block fuel injectors. The solution: replace the fuel filter.

Hosley explained the high-quality B20 the Cochrans are selling is put through a one-micron filter. The average car has a 10-micron filter. In theory, a new car, or one that has had the filter changed after a switch to biodiesel, will never have to have the filter changed again.

He also recommends that older vehicles make the switch slowly, using biodiesel initially as an additive and slowly increasing the percentage.

Biodiesel will also erode rubber gaskets and hoses. But generally, any car manufactured after 1991 uses synthetic for whatever comes in contact with oil or fuel.

Diesel fuels also tend to gel in cold temperatures.

Cochran said Berkshire Country Store workers have been trained to check conditions and determine the amount of natural additives they can add to their storage tank to keep B20 from freezing in their tank or those of customers’ vehicles.

On a greater scale, there is fear, confirmed in some places, that countries will cause grave environmental harm by clear-cutting to grow biofuel crops. In other places, land is simply not suitable or available. It is estimated that in order to meet its own needs for a complete conversion to biofuels, the U.S. would have to plant its entire land area twice over.

But there are lots of plants with usable oils, and their yields have been determined with interesting results.

At the bottom of the list is corn, which yields 18 U.S. gallons per acre. Soybeans yield 48. Nuts and plants that produce high drop yields in relatively little space are being experimented with; such as oil palm and Chinese tallow.

Far higher yields than any other source come from algae. Field trials conducted on biomass algae yielded 819 gallons per acre. The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Boulder, Colo., projects sustainable average biomass yields could reach as high as 5,000 gallons per acre.

"Algaculture" is predicted by some experts to be a realistic source of replacement for all engine fuels. The source of the best algae, and probably the cheapest and easiest way to grow it has already seen successful production. Any town that has a sewage treatment plant may one day be providing for its own fuel needs, or making a profit, from algae it can grow on sewage ponds.