After successful completion of a pilot program this summer, the University Transit System will begin using a new B20 biodiesel fuel starting Oct. 18, said Director of Parking and Transportation Rebecca White.
According to Chad Freckman, executive director of Blue Ridge Clean Fields, a non-profit group promoting the use of alternative fuels, the B20 fuel is a 20 percent blend of biodiesel fuel and regular petroleum diesel fuel.
White said the transition from petroleum diesel to biodiesel was made because of the environmental benefits it provides. Biodiesel fuels produce less harmful emissions and are a renewable energy source.
Chemical engineering Prof. Robert Davis said biodiesel fuel is better for the environment because it is derived from vegetable oil. The carbon dioxide emitted from burning is derived from plant carbon instead of fossil fuel carbon, meaning less carbon dioxide is introduced to the atmosphere.
"Regular diesel is a petroleum-derived product, and when you burn it to make carbon dioxide, the carbon that was originally underground now ends up as a greenhouse gas," Davis said.
According to Freckman, a 100 percent blend of biodiesel fuel would only reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 78 percent because methanol, the common alcohol used in processing biodiesel fuel, is derived from petroleum. In its pure form, biodiesel is completely non-toxic, and the Environmental Protection Agency does not consider it to be hazardous material. Unlike petroleum fuels, biodiesel fuels contain no sulfur.
"Importantly, the harmful compounds found in diesel exhaust, referred to as poly-aromatic compounds, which contain the carcinogenic material, is the harmful side of diesel exhaust, and biodiesel has none of that," Freckman said.
Although Freckman said biodiesel fuel provides poorer performance than petroleum diesel, White said she found no difference in fuel efficiency with the University buses.
"We get about 3.5 miles per gallon, and within the course of a year we'll use 125,000 gallons total," she said.
In addition to environmental safety, White said there were other reasons to encourage a transition to the new fuel. The University will not encounter additional costs because University buses are all capable of utilizing the new blend of fuel without any further adjustments.
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