Biodiesel Used In Home Heating Oil Applcitications
• Biodiesel can be used in its pure form to replace home heating oil, but in an immediate replacement fuel situation, it would most likely be used in blends of five to 20 percent.
• A 1993 study conducted by R.W. Beckett Corp. showed biodiesel and home heating oil were close in performance, with biodiesel burning cleaner and having more thermal stability.
• Biodiesel is used with home heating oil in Europe.
Benefits
• Since biodiesel is made domestically with renewable resources, using it at blended levels would still reduce dependence on foreign oils.
• Biodiesel has the highest BTU content of any renewable fuel (in the range between No. #1 and No. #2 diesel).
• With a flash point of approximately twice that of diesel fuel, and because it is biodegradable and non-toxic, it is the safest fuel to use, handle and transport.
• Biodiesel has the highest energy balance of ANY fuel. For every unit of fossil energy used to produce biodiesel, 3.2 units of energy are gained.
• Biodiesel was the first renewable fuel that fully completed the health effects testing requirements of the Clean Air Act amendments. Test confirm a 90 percent reduction in air toxins.
• A Department of Energy life cycle analysis shows that biodiesel reduces CO2 by 80%. CO2 is the primary greenhouse gas attributed to global warming. Since biodiesel has virtually no sulfur, it significantly reduces particulate matter and eliminates sulfates.
Production Capacity and Cost
• The biodiesel industry currently has an annual production capacity of about 200 million gallons.
• The cost of biodiesel depends on many factors including location, feedstock used to make the biodiesel and quantity purchased. The current range is from $1.50 to $2.00 a gallon for pure biodiesel. B20 is generally 15 to 30 cents more per gallon than diesel.
Potential Challenges
• Biodiesel by nature is a solvent. The chemical name for biodiesel is a mono alkyl ester, which is a common industrial chemical, used for solvents and other products. Therefore, it had a tendency to clean out fuel systems. This effect should be managed properly when biodiesel is initially used in pure form while the fuel cleans deposits left by dirtier distillate fuels. Using B20 or below will eliminate this concern because the clean process is more gradual.
• The Beckett study showed pure biodiesel to have a slightly higher viscosity and cloud point. A nozzle line heater may be needed with B100, but the effect would be less with biodiesel blends.
• The Beckett study also showed some gaskets were not compatible with B100. Some boiler systems may contain copper fuel lines or nitrile elastomers, which would be degraded by medium to high concentrations of biodiesel. Most of these materials can be replaced at a reasonable cost.
Long-Term Implications
• Griffin Industries is currently talking about the use of biodiesel in the home heating oil market this year because of the high price of heating oil. A long-term strategy that supports the utilization of domestically produced biodiesel as part of a comprehensive solution to heating oil shortages should be developed.