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The industry is buzzing about ethanol fuel and its diesel
counterpart: biodiesel, a clean-burning, alternative fuel produced from
domestic, renewable resources. Biodiesel fuel sales in the United States are on the rise, jumping from
500,000 gallons in 1999 to 75 million gallons in 2005. Use of the environmentally friendly fuel seems likely to continue to grow
as more states pass laws requiring biodiesel use in large trucks.
Yellow will be ready.
Yellow already buys more than 2.5 million gallons of biodiesel fuel a year,
and that number is on an upward trend, says Joe Broski, senior manager of commodity procurement. The areas of heaviest use are Minnesota and Illinois
where tax incentives make biodiesel use economically feasible.
Yellow actually uses a biodiesel blend in its trucks, Broski says, that is
low enough to produce environmental benefits without causing harm to
engines.
The primary benefit of biodiesel, experts say, is that it burns cleaner than
diesel fuel. A 1998 study, jointly sponsored by the U.S. departments of
Energy and Agriculture, concluded that biodiesel
reduces net carbon dioxide emissions by 78 percent compared to petroleum diesel. In
addition, studies confirm that biodiesel exhaust is less harmful to human
health than petroleum-based diesel.
Biodiesel is produced from any fat or oil, such as soybean oil, through a
refinery process called transesterification.
Biodiesel fuel is more expensive to produce than diesel, says
Bill Millard, manager of procurement, but that may change as technology
evolves.
Other factors that create an uncertain future for biodiesel are that engine
manufacturers continue to improve the efficiency of diesel engines and
refiners are making inroads in producing cleaner-burning diesel fuel.
In a related development, American Trucking Associations (ATA) leadership
recently agreed to move forward with the National Biodiesel Board on a
coordinated approach to promote biodiesel at the federal level, while
preempting state mandates currently in effect.
"Biodiesel is still in its infancy, with quality standards being
implemented, and worldwide specifications unresolved," Millard says. "Yellow
is actively monitoring and using this emerging product, and plans to be
ready to expand its use if it becomes practical."
| —From Yellow Transportation Week, the employee newspaper |
3/07 |
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