Biodiesel in Monroe County Vehicles

The County continued using B5 biodiesel during the winter months. It experienced a problem with their airport shuttle vans which had significant water in their fuel and caused engine malfunctions. The project extracted samples that did contain substantial water. Other County vehicles fueled from the same tank had no problems. Problem isolated as low-speed, constant use of the shuttles. Data showed that vehicles spend anywhere from 60-75% of their engine-on time idling which is well above average for other vehicles in the fleet. The vehicles also spend the balance of their running time under 30 mph. Supplier commented that this type of problem was common with diesel vehicles that only operate at low speed in cold temperatures. The situation is made worse by the use of biodiesel due to its tendency to absorb water. The supplier recommended an additive to dissolve the water and the County added it to their fuel storage tank. The project continued to monitor the vehicles, but no further issues were identified during the winter months.

Supplemental Notes:
- Program Information: Advanced Research, Alternative Fuels and Lifecycle Engineering

Language

English

Project

Status: Active
Sponsor Organizations:
Research and Innovative Technology Administration

Office of Research, Development, and Technology
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
Project Managers:
Johnson, Shawn
Performing Organizations:
Rochester Institute of Technology

Brighton, NY
Start Date: 20120510
Expected Completion Date: 0
Actual Completion Date: 0
Source Data: RiP Project 31286

Subject/Index Terms

TRT Terms: Biodiesel fuels; Engine idling; Fuel additives; Fuel tanks; Shuttle buses; Vehicle operations; Water; Winter
Uncontrolled Terms: Low speed vehicles
Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

Accession Number: 01467616
Record Type: Research project
Source Agency: Department of Transportation
Files: RiP, USDOT
Created Date: Jan 3 2013 3:36PM