Study on Bio-Diesel Fuel In Logging Operations Shows No Problem

Tuesday, July 13, 2010 03:59 AM

Diagram shows one of two fuel delivery systems tested in Prince George

Prince George, B.C.- A study to see how bio-diesel fuel blends stood up to the rigors of heavy equipment in a variety of industries and temperatures shows there is no problem.

The FPInnovations study selected a sawmill in Prince George as one of four sites tested over a six month period. The study concludes “Operators of machines can expect equivalent power and fuel consumption, smooth operation, and no unexpected downtime when using bio-diesel provided they follow the recommendations as set forth in this report.”

The Prince George sawmill was one of four sites in the country (Prince George, Coquitlam, Meritt and Quebec) to take part in the study.

The Prince George location represented the extreme for cold temperatures and markets where bio-diesel blends are not commercially available at retail pumps. The Merritt and Saint-Ludger-de-Milot locations were chosen to demonstrate the cold weather operability of bio-diesel blends and the issues encountered when bio-diesel is dispensed into small holding tanks and later to machinery. The Coquitlam site was chosen to highlight the ease of use of bio-diesel in higher blend ratios as may be encountered in the urban environment.

The machines in all four sites ran anywhere from 8 to 350 hours in a month. That was to show that machines used on an occasional basis will start and operate as expected, and those used on a double shift high use basis will suffer no adverse effects and no downtime.

The temperatures encountered, while not as cold as had been hoped for, were sufficiently cold and demonstrated that bio-diesel blends, when properly formulated for their intended operating environments, can work well.

The fuelling delivery methods covered a wide range of techniques and all were demonstrated to be effective. Under a renewable fuel mandate, the most common method of inline blending will become the standard, and this method should pose no trouble to the user in the construction, sawmill, or forestry sector. Whether delivery of fuel occurs at a retail pump or in bulk to holding tanks on the jobsite, both will work equally well.

The machine operators were interviewed to gauge their acceptance and perception on any negative impacts to how the machinery was operating. The responses from the users were all positive and many expressed a continued desire to use bio-diesel blends.

The six recommendations from the study are as follows:

Regular engine oil analysis is recommended and may be required as a condition of the manufacturer’s warranty coverage.
Older equipment may require updating to run bio-diesel, particularly in the fuel supply lines. Changing these older components for bio-diesel compatible ones may not be required but is recommended. However, no such precautions were taken for older machines in this study and no problems were encountered.
Whether using ultra low sulphur diesel, or bio-diesel blends, fuel filters on dispensing pumps should have filters that remove particles and water. Such filters were used at the Merritt forestry site, whereas no filters were used at the Saint-Ludger-de-Milot site.
On large storage tanks where fuel inventory could be held for up to six months, or where the tank frequently remains in a less than full state, vent drying filters are recommended to dry the air that is drawn into the tank as the fuel supply is depleted. Fuel deliveries were frequent in this study, but unexpected work stoppages can occur.
Deplete fuel supplies before the season changes to ensure the delivery of seasonally adjustedblend ratios in a timely manner.
When dealing with small bio-diesel vendors, verify the quality of fuel by asking for the Certificate of Analysis to ensure that the B100 used in the blend meets American Society for Testing and Materials D6751 standards.

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