Biodiesel OTR test nearing end

Fleet Owner.com
By Sean Kilcarr, senior editor
Aug 22, 2008 2:41 PM

DALLAS, TX – A two million-mile over-the-road field test of biodiesel-blended fuel has passed the 1.6 million mile mark and should be wrapped up by November of this year, with detailed data analysis on fuel performance available by spring 2009.

“What this test is designed to do is provide a roadmap for the successful use of B20,” said Dr. Don Heck, coordinator of biotechnology and biofuels program at Iowa Central Community College, as well as the director of the two million-mile haul field test. “We want to define the fuel economy expectations of B20, proper handling procedures, and its cold weather performance.”
B20 is a blended fuel made up of 20% biodiesel – in this case made largely from soybean oil – with 80% regular No. 2 diesel fuel. Refrigerated and flatbed carrier Decker Truck Lines of Ft. Dodge, Iowa, agreed in August 2006 to participate in the study with 20 trucks in its 600 truck fleet – 10 operating on diesel and 10 using B20 biodiesel.

To date, Heck noted that the fuel economy difference between B20 and regular diesel is around 2% for the entire study, narrowing to 1% in the summer months. On average, Decker’s Peterbilt 378s and 386s equipped with 475 hp Caterpillar engines are achieving 6.25 mpg with diesel and 6.12 mpg with B20. Those 20 trucks are all in flatbed operation, hauling full 80,000-lb. loads of construction materials on set, round-trip routes between Ft. Dodge to Chicago and Ft. Dodge to Minneapolis.

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