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DaimlerChrysler was the sponsor of a recent summit that looked to gain widespread acceptance of 20% biodiesel by the makers of engines and vehicles. The auto giant also asked the group to come up with a viable fuel standard for the B20 finished blend.

In a press release from the National Biodiesel Board, the summit looked for a defined standard for B20. An American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specification already exists for 100% biodiesel. The B20 standard would give engine makers something for which they can design:

“Biodiesel represents a huge opportunity to address some of our nation’s toughest energy, environmental and economic challenges,” said Deborah Morrissett, DaimlerChrysler’s VP of Regulatory Affairs. “We know this is the right thing to do – so the goal now is to develop a national B20 standard that can be universally applied to all diesel vehicles, both on road and in production, to confidently support higher blends of biodiesel such as B20.”

“The B100 standard has been designed so that it is protective of B20 and lower blends,” said Steve Howell, NBB Technical Director and Chairman of the ASTM Task Force on biodiesel standards, “but regulators need us to approve a finished blend standard to hold people to, and engine makers need something they can design to.”

The manufacturers, policy makers, regulators and biodiesel industry representatives who met for this summit also identified several other areas to bolster B20 including long-term effects of emissions control and after-treatment devices, long-term engine durability testing, and greater fuel quality monitoring.

The Dow Chemical Company has announced what it characterizes as a “significant milestone in its pursuit of sustainable chemistries.”

In a press release on the company web site, Dow says it is conducting consumer trials using the glycerin from the production of biodiesel. Dow gets Propylene Glycol Renewable… or PGR… from the biodiesel-based glycerin. The PGR is expected to be used in unsaturated polyester resins. Those UPRs are used in a wide variety products… from boat hulls to bathrooms:

“PGR provides environmental benefits and is cost competitive. It also offers the same outstanding characteristics in terms of quality and performance as our existing PG products,” says Mady Bricco, global product director, Propylene Oxide / Propylene Glycol. “This breakthrough technology underscores Dow’s commitment to deliver products and process technologies that bolster the Company’s sustainable chemistry aspirations. At the same time, PGR further strengthens our performance business portfolio, delivering an important building block material for a variety of industrial applications.”

Plus, PGRs are better for the environment because they’re made from renewable sources, and less water is used in their production.

Today is National Biodiesel Day. It is also the birthday of Rudolph Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine. Coincedence? No… early versions of Diesel’s engine in the late 1800’s ran on peanut oil, and in 1912, he said “the use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils may become, in the course of time, as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time.”

The National Biodiesel Board points out the increased demand for biodiesel today as the fruition of Diesel’s vision:

* In 2006, biodiesel production reached 225 million gallons – nearly three times the 75 million gallons produced just one year earlier. There are 105 plants operating today, each one adding sorely needed fuel refining capacity in America.
* 62% of U.S. consumers are willing to pay more per gallon for biodiesel than regular fuel, with most consumers willing to pay 1 to 10 cents more.
* More than four-in-five consumers continue to support a tax incentive that would make biodiesel cost approximately the same as regular diesel.
* While only 3% of consumers surveyed own a diesel vehicle today, 61% say they would consider buying a diesel car because of the benefits of biodiesel.

The United Soybean Board released a statement today encouraging farmers to use more soy-based biodiesel in their farm equipment.

In a press release, USB points out that biodiesel does a great job of lubricating engines, as well of offering an alternative to petroleum. And the board points out that soybean chyeckoff money has been helping fund biodiesel efforts for years:

“U.S. soybean farmers have enjoyed plenty of success in our industry over the years, and biodiesel has to be one of the most notable feathers in our cap,” says USB Chairman Eric Niemann, a soybean farmer from Nortonville, Kan. “Farmers have been true champions regarding promotion of biodiesel to fuel suppliers and diesel users across the countryside. We helped form the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) which continues to drive biodiesel research, promotion and help pump this fast-growing renewable fuel into the nation’s petroleum infrastructure.”

The National Biodiesel Board says 225 million gallons of biodiesel was used in 2006. Officials say about 50% of all American farmers use biodiesel in their equipment… and they want to see that number to move to ALL farmers.

The board released the information as we approach National Biodiesel Day, March 18th… the birthday of Rudolph Diesel, inventor of the diesel engine.

The National Biodiesel Board released a fact sheet today that shows how biodiesel is part of the solution to global warming.

The NBB has received the support of some heavy hitters such as U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who says biofuels like biodiesel are part of the answer as Congress takes on climate change policy. U.S. Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science Raymond L. Orbach named biodiesel in his Congressional testimony and said, “And these technologies will help us to be better stewards of the environment, and they will help us confront the serious challenge of global climate change.”

Plus, some major environmental groups, such as Environmental Defense and the Union of Concerned Scientists, cite biodiesel as having the potential to contribute greatly against climate change.

But the board is using more than celebrity endorsements, giving some facts it has gathered:

* Since growing oilseeds like soybeans to produce the oil takes up carbon dioxide, biodiesel has a closed carbon cycle, dramatically reducing CO2.
* Biodiesel from oilseeds like soybeans provides a 78% life cycle decrease in CO2 emissions when compared to petroleum diesel fuel.
* Biodiesel produced from soybeans grown in the U.S. produces a 3.24 to 1 positive life cycle energy balance, beginning with bare ground and counting all inputs for growing, harvesting, processing and transportation, according to an analysis jointly conducted by the U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture.