The Port of Vancouver, USA is one of the first pots in the United States to replace regular diesel fuel with environmentally-friendly biodiesel for use in almost all of its own vehicles and heavy equipment. Biodiesel is a cleanerburning diesel fuel made from vegetable oil, including recycled cooking oil. While pure biodiesel contains no petroleum, it can be blended with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend.
B20
The Port of Vancouver is using a combination 20 per cent biodiesel blended with 80 per cent regular diesel, called ‘B20.’ Use of B20 biodiesel can result in a reduction of emissions by up to 20 per cent, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “One of the key tenets of our mission is to be a leader in environmental stewardship,” said Larry Paulson, Port of Vancouver, USA Executive Director. “In addition to reducing emissions in our work environment, this change will help support a new market for Washington agricultural products and reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil.”
Last April, Washington legislators passed a law that requires all state agencies to use a minimum of 20 per cent biodiesel for state fleet vehicles by 2009. The Port of Vancouver was the first public port in the state to implement a programme for compliance.
Structured phase-in key to switch
Close monitoring of vehicle fuel filter systems and a process to phase-in the conversion from regular diesel to biodiesel in port vehicles was key to successfully making the switch to the alternative fuel, according to Mark Savage, the port’s lead mechanic. Savage said the carefully…
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