From B2 to B5

 

·        Since 2005, when the B2 mandate went into effect, Minnesota’s diesel powered vehicles have been running on this clean-burning, homegrown, renewable fuel.

 

·        Diesel engine manufacturers already approve of the use of B5 blends and industry specification includes B5 as "standard diesel fuel" - which means it is safe for use in trucks, emergency and maintenance equipment and all diesel equipment.

 

·        Increasing Minnesota's diesel fuel blend will require about 40 million gallons of biodiesel per year.  With a capacity to produce more than 60 million gallons of biodiesel, Minnesota’s biodiesel industry will be able to meet that demand.   

 

·        While biodiesel has been produced mainly from soybean oil, some Minnesota producers are currently processing or are moving toward other feedstocks such as animal fats, spent cooking oils or even algae." 

 

Biodiesel Performance

 

·        We have been using a 2% blend for almost 4 years.  Performance of B5 is expected to be the same.

 

·        Biodiesel blends have shown excellent performance during the last three Minnesota winters. Some Minnesota fleets have used higher biodiesel blends as high as B20 through the winter without any evidence of filter plugging problems.  (Eureka Recycling and the cities of Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park) 

·        Biodiesel’s high lubricity increases engine life in modern diesel engine fuel system components and makes catalytic converters work more effectively.  It also reduces unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and particulate matter.

·        Biodiesel also has a significant positive energy balance. A 2007 update to the USDA/DOE study found that for every unit of fossil energy it takes to make biodiesel, 3.5 units of energy are gained.

 

Labeling

 

The Federal Trade Commission has ruled that biodiesel blends of 5% and below are not required to be labeled.