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If you're following the biodiesel industry, it seems another group of entrepreneurs is announcing plans to build a new biodiesel plant almost every day.

For many small and medium-sized producers of biodiesel, adhering to strict quality standards has been a big issue. Often, the final product manufactured at these plans does not meet ASTM standards of biodiesel production, but are shipped out to end users anyway.

The most important quality aspects for biodiesel are flash point, alcohol content, cloud point, water and sediment content (including a test for the presence of a number of harmful elements), acid value, free and total glycerin, and most importantly, oxidation stability.

The oxdiation stability issue is one of the most relevant to today's biodiesel users because it determines the length of time the biodiesel (or biodiesel blend) can be stored safely and if oxidation stability standards are not met, there could be disastrous harm caused to every tank, truck, engine, and part coming into contact with the fuel.

According to a recent article in Today's Trucking, "Small and medium producers of biodiesel have 'significant failure rates,' while about 90 percent of all tested biodiesel meets specifications, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's 2007 biodiesel quality survey." (http://www.todaystrucking.com/news.cfm?intDocID=19383)

This presents a dangerous dilemma for end users who are considering a switch to biodiesel. If low-quality biodiesel is making its way into the marketplace undetected, is it worth the risk?

Of course, for biodiesel producers, a news report like the one shown above makes their potential clients fearful and hurts their ability to do business.

IFT's DiesoLIFT BD-3 recently passed through comprehensive testing of its ability to improve oxidation stability in biodiesel and biodiesel blands and revealed itself to be the best available biodiesel stability improver on the market today.

For many producers, marketers, and end users of biodiesel, use of DiesoLIFT BD-3 will provide:

• Longer storage/shelf life
  
• Significantly lower ocurrences microbial growth caused by oxidation
  
• Increase the overall value of the product to end users

For full test data on DiesoLIFT BD-3 and to see how it stacks up to the "top" oxidation stability additives on today's market, contact Paul Lee at plee@internationalfuel.com.

So it has come to this.

News reports this morning speak of a strike being organized by truckers in the state of Florida to protest the recent crippling rise in U.S. diesel prices.  The truckers- mostly owner-operators whose sole source of income is the operation of their truck- vow to park their rigs, drive at 45-mph on the highway, or simply display protest signs on their trailers, hoping to catch the attention of both the U.S. government, and big oil companies who supply the diesel fuel.

http://www.wesh.com/news/15756801/detail.html

For those who are still afloat, despite the $4-plus diesel prices, there are some temporary solutions out there. 

Recenty, readers have posted some useful suggestions:
1) Drive the speed limit on the highway.
2) Accelerate more slowly.
3) Closely monitor tire pressure.  Keep it high enough.

As I visit some of the larger fleets in the U.S., I see more technologies being adopted to help keep fuel economy high:
1) Filling truck tires with Nitrogen to prevent air loss or pressure loss- a costly, but apparently worthwhile solution.
2) Employment of various driver habit control systems (i.e. prevents idling, heavy acceleration, etc.)
3) More aerodynamics technology being added to the truck and trailer.
4) More efficient reefer units (refrigeration) being manufactured and purchased.

Despite all of these solutions that have become available, some are too difficult to implement, too expensive to adopt, and in all cases, none are effective in combating the rapid increase in diesel prices.

Technologies like International Fuel Technology's DiesoLIFT(TM) additives have value that increases as fuel prices rise.   At $1 per gallon of diesel, the return on investment in DiesoLIFT(TM) would only be about 2 or 3 cents per gallon of diesel consumed.  At a consumption volume of 1,000,000 gallons per year, it would stand to save you a net of about $20,000-30,000. 

However, at a fuel price of $4 per gallon, DiesoLIFT(TM)'s net return would be about 17 to 18 cents per gallon of fuel consumed.  Savings for a company consuming 1,000,000 gallons of diesel per year would be $170,000 to $180,000.  For a company consuming 10 million gallons per year, the savings would be nearly $1.8 million annually.

DiesoLIFT(TM) products require no fixed up-front investment, and IFT continues to offer its Zero-Cost Pilot Program to large fleets with a central fuel source.

Contact Paul Lee at plee@internationalfuel.com for details on the technology and the opportunity to verify its effectiveness on-site with your fleet.