Biodiesel Rulez!!! [ARCHIVED]

[biogas.works]

The question now is should I or should I not add BD to my fuel tank anymore since the BD act is already put unto law. Thanks to Zubiri. (We know who to call unto if ever this BD thing backfires.

[B]How will you know if BD backfires?[\B]
Please allow me to re-state my position. I am not against the use of BD, CME or BioActiv (the more popular CME in the market.)

My "simulated dyno" tests show after running over 6,000 miles (and still going) simply show that 0.5% gives better and more sustainable mileage improvements over the long term.

As the BioFuels Act will be implemented soon, and only 1% CME blended diesel will be sold in ALL gasoline stations, How will you know if BD is good or not?

The only way to know is by running your own tests. These tests do not even have to include BD. Begin by finding out what your fuel mileage with 100% diesel is. Get separate data for City Driving and Highway Driving. Get the data in multiple occasions so more accurate average values can be obtained.

You can stop at this point, wait until the BioFuels Act is implemented and determine your fuel mileage again with 1% CME blended diesel. Make several determinations because the fuel mileage improvements at the onset are HUGE but they will taper down after long-term use.

At this point, long-term fuel mileage of 1% CME blended with 100% diesel be compared with any data you previously obtained. Now you can tell if the BioFuels Act is good or bad.

After obtaining baseline City and Highway fuel mileage with 100% diesel, and while waiting for the BioFuels Act to be implemented, find out what 0.5% CME can do for you. Doing so will give you 3 sets of data that you can compare.

[B]Remember![B] The BioFuels Act specifically aims to increase the % of biofuel added. The 1% BD can be increased to 2% BD practically anytime specially if no one opposes it. And, there is no provision to lower the blend.

Unless we have data that can prove convincingly that 0.5% is better than 1%, or that 1% or 2% in fact increases our fuel consumption rather than decreases it -- or, unless we take an active part in mattters like this -- we deserve getting legislation that may not be good us.

Complacency, indifference and talking instead instead of doing. Its really our choice.

[pervagus]

On the practical level pls help:

What is the most reasonable and convenient procedure to ensure 1% or .5% blend of bioactive? My ride is 2002 xwind and my friend who endorsed the use of said product simply instructed me to add 1 bottle for every full tank. Twice na ako nag full tank and the immediate benefit is the smoking gun was gone. is there is long term bad effect if blend is not proper? thnaks.

Ok, a direct consumer concern for a change.

I presume that you poured in a 500 ml. bottle which gives you more or less a 1% blend for every full tank of diesel. You have seen the emission benefit so far and it would be good if you can provide mileage performance stats next time since coco-biodiesel has a restorative effect on all diesel engines. This simply means that any carbon build-up in the fuel system and injection pumps will be cleared out and the result will be better fuel burn due to: (i) the unclogged nozzle tips and (ii) the consequence of adding an oxygenated fuel (coco-biodiesel) to regular diesel. You just have to check your fuel filter and replace it if the cleansing action of coco-biodiesel has deposited the sludge from fuel tank in it.

As for using higher blends there should be no issue with regard to engine performance or safety. The Worldwide Fuel Charter, whose members are the major vehicle makers, have certified that warranties will hold on biodiesel blends of up to 5%. That being said, there is really no technical impediment to using higher biodiesel blends for existing unmodified engines like what is normally practiced in Europe (up to 100% or pure biodiesel!), the U.S. (10%) and Australia (up to 20%). A blend of 1% to 5% should be just about the optimum in terms of cost/benefit performance for us automotive users.

The oil companies have capitalized on this scare tactic and consumer unawareness to delay acceptance of biodiesel since ALL diesel vehicles in this country are really coco-biodiesel-ready. And not just automative but even diesel engines for power plants!

You will also find it interesting to know that Flying V has been selling 1% coco-biodiesel blend at the pumps since August 2005 and not a single motorist has complained of adverse engine performance after tens of millions of liters of coco-biodiesel having been sold. Higher blends have been on extended trial with some transport companies and nothing has come up to suggest that engine performance has been compromised; on the contrary, these trials have shown substantial cost savings per operating kilometer.

Biodiesel has been in use in Europe for over ten years and it is sold by the major oil companies like Shell (surprise!). The U.S has had long years of biodiesel use in commercial and farm transport and the verdict is favorable. Knowing how the U.S. consumer is, you would have expected a lot of news of litigation left and right resulting from busted engines due to biodiesel use. There is none.

And, lastly, a pitch for coco-biodiesel. It is the most superior biodiesel anywhere in the world. Better than what the Americans, the Europeans and the Malaysians can come up with from soybean, rapeseed and palm oil. More on this in another post soon.

[pup2]

Siyempre naman. May antibacterial, antiviral, at antifungal properties yata ang coco biodiesel natin!

On a more serious note, bakit hindi na lang kaya i-require na lang na mag-offer ng biodiesel without specifying the inclusion rate? Market forces would determine the best blend rather than <gasp> congress. And this would apply for Ethanol also -- after all, I think the (one of the) author of the bill has vested interest in sugar (being from negros).

Para naman tayong communist country nito -- lahat na lang sine-specify!

[biogas.works]

...
You will also find it interesting to know that Flying V has been selling 1% coco-biodiesel blend at the pumps since August 2005 and not a single motorist has complained of adverse engine performance after tens of millions of liters of coco-biodiesel having been sold. Higher blends have been on extended trial with some transport companies and nothing has come up to suggest that engine performance has been compromised; on the contrary, these trials have shown substantial cost savings per operating kilometer.
...

The scary aspect of the BioFuels Act is that "motorists may never know" that the 1% blend forced upon them is actually GOOD or BAD. If motorists do not obtain a baseline of their fuel consumption with 100% diesel now they will never be able to do so after the Biofuels Act is implemented because by then it will be illegal to sell and/or purchase 100% diesel.

Without baseline information, motorists now and in the future will have no data for comparison purposes. For this reason, motorists will never complain since they do not know if they are actually using the same or more diesel than before the BioFuels Act.

I called transport companies (Arrow Freight Corp. 294-9387 & 294-9402 and Consolidated Paper Products 983-8881) listed in the BioActiv website as product users. Both companies admitted trying BioActiv some time ago but they are not currently using it. And big bus companies like Victory Liner and Baliwag Transit have never even tried any biodiesel or CME product until very recently.

So, who are these transport companies that are using higher blends of CME? What are their fuel mileages with 100% diesel and with 1% CME? As there is no chassis dynamometer in the Philippines that can be used for fuel mileage determination, how did they compute or determine these mileages? How long have they been using CME at 1% or higher blends?

It is easy to say that other countries like the USA, Australia, Germany, Japan, etc are using CME exported from the Philippines. But since these countries have not mandated the use of CME, just having the product available "FOR SALE" at gasoline stations and automobile supply stores does not mean CME is widely used in these countries.

You seem to be a spokesperson for CME and you must have access to data and information. Please divulge your data and information so that we can verify them. Who are the local transport companies using CME? Who are these companies in foreign countries? How long have they been using CME? May we contact them?

As for my fuel mileage data on 1% and 0.5% CME, I shall be happy to show you how I obtained them. I can even take you on a test run for demonstration purposes so you can see for yourself that 0.5% CME gives the better results.

[Yamada Jiro]

I'm actually interested to use biodiesel also but I think I'm one of the more ignorant diesel users as I wonder if I can use it for my 98 Adventure and 2005 Crosswind. If it's really that good, I won't mind paying a little more to have cleaner emissions.

[mbeige]

The other side of the equation is the emissions output of biodiesel compared to regular diesel. Surely they say it's cleaner, but I'm sure the technically minded would like to have some numbers like CO, NO, HC emissions, etc. that would potentially lead to air pollution (visible or not).

Consider too that the diesel used there is still the LSD type if it is, at all, low sulfur diesel. Here in the US, ULSD (ultra low sulfur diesel) is already mandated and used at every pump while some pumps still offer biodiesel in different blends.

While you're all concerned about fuel economy, some are also concerned about pollution. I think they're equally important and must be addressed with quantitative figures and not just subjective observations.

[trackers888]

Mga bossing, maiba lang po. Anu po ba ang nabibiling BioActive? Nasa plastic container sya (around 500ml yata) na nabibili sa gasoline station (mine is nabili ko sa Petron), ok din ba to?

[biogas.works]

While you're all concerned about fuel economy, some are also concerned about pollution. I think they're equally important and must be addressed with quantitative figures and not just subjective observations.

Emission reduction using biodiesel is not usually discussed anymore because it is well proven with tests by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory and many others. "Higher Precision" evaluations in the Saskatoon BioBus II study performed in Canada also reports that biodiesels reduce emissions (improve lubricity and give better mileage) even when used at low blends of 0.2%.

Among all biodiesels, however, only Coconut Methyl Ester (CME) appears to be capable of giving 10% or more mileage (in addition to better lubricity and lower emissions.) My own tests indicate 0.5% delivers the same or better performance than 1% which is why I am asking everyone to try 0.5% (so they can compare how much better it is when only 1% will be available after the BioFuels Act is implemented.)

Mga bossing, maiba lang po. Anu po ba ang nabibiling BioActive? Nasa plastic container sya (around 500ml yata) na nabibili sa gasoline station (mine is nabili ko sa Petron), ok din ba to?

Ang pinaka-popular na CME sa Pinas ay ang "BioActiv." Ang ipinagbibili sa Petron ay kulay berde. Ang CME na ginagamit ng Flying V ay "BioActiv" din pero iba lang ang kulay. Ang "Estrol" ay isa rin CME na gawa sa Pinas at approved ng DOE. Sa alam ko ito ay ipinagbibili ng SeaOil. Basta CME ang ginagamit mo, even if it is home-made like I used before, OK sya!

[mbeige]

Emission reduction using biodiesel is not usually discussed anymore because it is well proven with tests by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory and many others. "Higher Precision" evaluations in the Saskatoon BioBus II study performed in Canada also reports that biodiesels reduce emissions (improve lubricity and give better mileage) even when used at low blends of 0.2%.

Do you have any sites that provide this info? Would you also know how much emissions difference there is when used at higher percentages like B20 and such up to B99?

[biogas.works]

Do you have any sites that provide this info? Would you also know how much emissions difference there is when used at higher percentages like B20 and such up to B99?

I have found and read many sites about CME Emissions. The most reputable and respected, I believe, is the NREL report. I am sorry I cannot refer a specific site as I cannot remember which one is best. Please search using the terms "CME Emissions NREL" and just read postings from the NREL website.

Please note that the NREL report tested CME at 5% and they mentioned it was "not necessary" to test it at a lower percentage and they explain why.

At this point, I want you to know that there are many BioDiesels. Each one is different; is used differently; and, gives different performance. Keep your studies confined to Coconut Methyl Ester (CME). If the NREL is happy to use CME at 5%, use that as a starting point and study lower instead of higher blends.

BioDiesels are expensive so using higher blends is costly. Besides it does not mean that if 5% CME will reduce emissions by 20%, the use of 99% CME will give (20% x 99%/5%) 396% lower emissions. The use of 99% CME will probably only increase emission reduction to 30% (compared to 20% for 5% CME.)