Putting Biodiesel to the Test

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas System's Division of Agriculture are studying the costs and benefits of biodiesel fuel in a fleet of four-wheel-drive utility vehicles used by campus maintenance crews, with a focus on the environmental impact of emissions, fuel economy and engine wear.

Donald M. Johnson and George W. Wardlow, professors of agricultural systems technology, received a grant from the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board for $18,000 for the first year in a multi-year project in cooperation with the university’s facilities management department. The grant is from check-off funds provided by the state's soybean farmers.

Mike Johnson, associate vice chancellor for facilities management, said the project is part of a campus sustainability initiative.

"Facilities management is assessing and developing plans and goals to support progress in all areas to reduce energy consumption and our impact on the environment,” Mike Johnson said, explaining that the department has implemented changes affecting capital construction to meet high industry standards for energy efficient and environmentally friendly design in projects greater than $1 million.

Professors Johnson and Wardlow will supervise graduate student Garris Hudson, who is working with the drivers of 17 Kubota utility vehicles to record data on engine emissions, fuel usage and engine wear. Results will be compared between vehicles using either petroleum diesel or a B20 biodiesel blend. A blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel is the current standard for commercial use, Donald Johnson said.

Mark Cochran, director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station in the UA System's statewide Division of Agriculture, said, "This project is an example of the division's research and extension efforts to support the emerging biofuels industry in the state and region." He said the division uses biodiesel, where available, in vehicles and equipment such as irrigation pumps.

The city of Fayetteville, which recently installed a system for storing biodiesel and blending it with regular diesel, will provide the B20 fuel for the project.

"It is documented that biodiesel burns cleaner than petroleum diesel and provides essentially the same level of fuel efficiency in a B20 blend," Donald Johnson said. "However, there are some gaps in the research," he added.

Wardlow said studies have shown that biodiesel emissions contain less total greenhouse gases and other pollutants, but there are conflicting results on oxides of nitrogen, one of the greenhouse gases. Different studies show slightly higher or lower levels in biodiesel versus petroleum diesel, he said.

"We believe this study will make a significant contribution to the body of data on oxides of nitrogen and other emissions, as well as the understanding of how biodiesel impacts engine wear and fuel efficiency," Donald Johnson said.

Kubota drivers are keeping a data logbook on each vehicle. The data include emission levels of several gases as measured by Hudson. He also tests samples of engine oil periodically. The chemical profile of the oil reveals the degree of engine wear, he said.

Robert Stobaugh, a Conway County farmer and member of the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board and National Biodiesel Board, said the soybean board is funding the study because it believes the results will further demonstrate the benefits of biodiesel. About 90 percent of biodiesel is made from soybean oil.

"I know from running B20 in 30-year-old engines and brand new engines that it is good fuel and burns cleaner. This project will help document those facts," Stobaugh said.

Stobaugh said biodiesel is readily available in about one-fourth of the counties in Arkansas at prices that are competitive with petroleum diesel.

Biodiesel is produced in Arkansas by Patriot Biofuels at Stuttgart and FutureFuel Chemical Co. at Batesville with a combined capacity of some 27 million gallons a year. Construction is under way on at least four other refineries, which could more than triple the state's annual production capacity.

Stobaugh said growing demand for biofuels has significantly improved the prices farmers are receiving for feedstock crops such as corn for ethanol and soybeans for biodiesel. Prices of some other crops have also increased due to a shift of acreage into energy crops, he said.