Anyone run Bioidiesel in NO.2 oil burners?....Boilerpro

The Wire Nut

Just consider...

... the least expensive fuel is the one you do not use at all. Vehicle gas mileage is suddenly back on the agenda in Washington and the consumer, now that $3/gallon gas seems to be here to stay. That's where 60% of oil is going right now, transportation.

Building fuel efficient vehicles is not rocket science. Despite many engine efficiency advances, most cars today have worse mileage... because the engine size increases eat up all the potential savings.

One could blame Madison ave in part for it, since all we hear about most cars is just how quickly they can get from 0-60MPH or that they have 300+hp, tons of torque, etc. However, that is pinning the responsibility on the wrong entity. After all, in a free market society the consumer gets what the consumer demands, and we seem to be drinking up the ads, no?

For me, the key is to address the issues that discourage conservation. What mechanism is the most efficient I leave for others to debate, but as with any such process there are going to be transaction costs, resulting in "winners" and "losers". We can drastically reduce energy consumption in this country, just look at the adjustments went through after the 1979 oil crisis. But who has the appetite for that kind of upheaval?

chapchap70_2

I think around 15% fuel savings could be acheived with no changes with the one exception of people learning how to drive.

I heard a report on the radio today about the price of food increasing mostly due to the rising gas prices. The report did mention that part of the increase was attributed to less farm production for food in liue of crops for alternative fuel. We seem to be getting hit coming and going.

The legal limit of fuel oil sulfur content for Suffolk County (Long Island) is 1 mass percent or 10,000 parts per million. If the actual content is 5000 ppm, and B5 is introduced, the content is reduced to about 4000 ppm. A company with help from great buzz doesn't even have to market itself as environmentally responsible because it is delivering fuel oil that reduces sulfur emissions by 20%. I think I read somewhere that New York gives a 20 cent per gallon tax credit to fuel oil customers that burn B5. How it is distributed I don't know.

A company can refuse to deliver bio because of equipment concerns instead delivers low sulfur 500 ppm fuel oil which reduces sulfur emission 90% compared to the regular oil, gets rewarded with no marketing help or subsidies and has to explain to people why its oil is better for the environment than biofuel.

The Wire Nut

I'm surprised it's that high...

... I thought the federal EPA limit until recently was 1,700PPM sulfur. Many deliveries I received in the past were dyed road-use fuel, which used to have a 500PPM limit, which has (or will shortly) reduce to 50PPM.

I noticed a huge difference inside the boiler while cleaning it once I made the switch to low-sulfur fuel with B5. At ~45PPM sulfur, there are almost not deposits, no soot from combustion, etc. I do have a little coking at the turbulator, but that seems to be related to the fuel pump solenoid not cutting out correctly.

I'm not sure how your calculation re: B5 and sulfur reduction is supposed to work. Your math indicating a 20% reduction in sulfur would require B20, not B5.

Your points about people using their equipment properly is well-taken. One of the reasons that the EPA revised its road-testing procedure was to better reflect the high number of lead-foots out there. Also, MA has allegedly started to give "right-size" incentives to HVAC-installers for every 1/2 ton of overcapacity they remove when replacement time comes.

chapchap70_2

DOH

"I'm not sure how your calculation re: B5 and sulfur reduction is supposed to work. Your math indicating a 20% reduction in sulfur would require B20, not B5."

I employed fuzzy math. IE 1/20 = 20%


There was no math by me in coming up with the sulfur content. The numbers come directly from Bill of Ladings of an oil terminal our company uses.

I've asked about the availability of ultra low sulfur heating oil (<15 ppm) by rebranding the diesel that is available for on road use and the terminal guys didn't understand why I would want to use that until I explained it. The allowable viscosity of diesel is more than heating oil but the products are frequently rebranded as the other if the viscosity is low enough. Red dyed ultra low diesel fuel is available now but costs almost 20 cents per gallon more than regular #2 fuel oil. There is little demand for low sulfur heating oil let alone ultra low sulfur because it is not being pushed like biodiesel. A company who wants to do this would have to market the benefits by itself. Who knows, there may be other regulatory problems of getting ultra low sulfur diesel (heating oil) into residential oil tanks.




"Amount of credit
The credit amount equals $0.01 per gallon for each percent of biodiesel included in the
bioheat, not to exceed $0.20 per gallon, purchased by the taxpayer on or after July 1, 2006, but
before July 1, 2007. The bioheat must be used for space heating or hot water production for
residential purposes within New York State. If a taxpayer makes more than one purchase of
bioheat that qualifies for this credit and the percentage of biodiesel included in the bioheat varies,
a separate calculation must be made for each purchase of bioheat. If two or more taxpayers share
in the purchase of bioheat, the amount of the credit allowable to each taxpayer is to be prorated
according to the percentage of the total bioheat purchased by each taxpayer. "

Taken from http://www.tax.state.ny.us/pdf/memos/multitax/m06_4c_6i.pdf.

I am guessing this will be renewed.