11/19/02
By CARYL VELISEK
An open house was held at the Shell service station in Taylorsville, Md., Nov. 8 to introduce to the public the station’s new 100 percent (B100) soy-based biodiesel fuel pump.
Taylorsville is located at the juncture of Routes 26 and 27, between Frederick and Baltimore. This is the second soy-based biodiesel pump in central Maryland — and the first offering 100 percent, according to John Hoffman, who is in charge of marketing at Tevis Oil Inc. of Westminster. At Taylorsville, customers can use the fuel at 100 percent or blend it at the pump at whatever percentage they desire.
Tevis opened a 5 percent blend pump (B5) at a Westminster location a year ago, Hoffman said.
“What we’re selling is manufactured from 100 percent soybean oil,” he added, explaining that biodiesel can be made from other non-petroleum products as well.
One of the first customers at the new biodiesel pump was Peter Storey of Nashua, N.H., who had found out about the open house on the Web and stopped on his way home to New Hampshire from a business appointment.
Storey attracted quite a crowd with his sporty, bright red Volkswagon equipped with a TDI (turbo direct injection) engine. He has been a member, it turned out, of the Frederick TDI Club (biodiesel.com) for several years and has been using B100 in his Volkswagon for a year and a half. Storey’s car, he said, gets 34 to 37 miles per gallon and is 30 percent more efficient than a comparable car using conventional fuel.
“We’re still getting to know these cars,” Storey said, but he is obviously happy with his.
“Just a 2 percent blend can increase lubricity factors almost 30 percent,” Hoffman said.
At the Westminster location, the B5 biodiesel is at a truck dealer’s pump, Hoffman said. “So the mechanics are keeping track of what effects it has regarding repairs and wear and tear and, so far, are finding very favorably on the side of biodiesel. “For a long time we (Tevis Oil) have wanted to get into some type of renewable energy. With biodiesel we saw a definite benefit to users, farmers, and the community as a whole,” Hoffman said.
Diesel engines made after 1985 can run on biodiesel without modification and perform the same as with conventional fuel, according to Hoffman. Biodiesel has been approved by diesel manufacturers so its use won’t affect warranties and John Deere has endorsed its use.
“Some people are using biodiesel to enhance their public image,” Hoffman said. “Like trash haulers, school systems (the exhaust fumes are less harmful to kids who are sensitive), and government agencies such as the park service, for instance.
“Most of the alternative fuels available, like electricity and natural gas, require minor to major modifications. If the current energy bill passes, the use of biodiesel as a blend or at 100 percent, could mean substantial rebates for users.”
Soy-based biodiesel has been very well received at the Westminster location, Hoffman said.
“But it is a test market and we have been selling at cost and we don’t know yet if people will go out of their way to purchase it.”
The fuel was selling at Taylorsville for $2.59 a gallon Nov. 8.
“The price, of course, will go down if it really catches on and the demand increases. And if the energy bill passes and users get some tax relief, it would give impetus to the use of biodiesel,” Hoffman said.