Kansas salt mine becomes first to use B100 biodiesel Date Posted:
12/24/2004
HUTCHINSON, Kan. ñ Air quality is a critical issue for workers who use
diesel engines in confined spaces, and using biodiesel fuel in mining equipment
is one way to help protect their health. Today, the Kansas Soybean Commission
(KSC), Hutchinson Salt Company and National Biodiesel Board (NBB) hosted a tour
of the salt companyís mine in Hutchinson, Kan. The Hutchinson Salt Co. is the
first mine of any kind to use B100 (100 percent biodiesel).
Biodiesel is a renewable, alternative fuel to petroleum diesel, and is made
from soybeans grown in the United States as well as other fats and vegetable
oils. It burns cleaner, reduces emissions like particulate matter by 47 percent
and cuts carcinogens 80-90 percent. Biodiesel is sulfur-free, non-flammable and
biodegrades faster than sugar.
ìWe use B100 biodiesel in everything underground that runs on diesel,î said Max
Liby, VP of Manufacturing for the mine. ìThe main benefit is weíve cleaned up
soot in the air and have cut particulates. Workers, particularly the operator
of the loaders, like the soy biodiesel much better because they say
particulates do not get in their nostrils and the air is noticeably cleaner.
Also, lubricity is much greater than if we used regular diesel fuel, so the
injector pumps and injectors work more efficiently. The soy biodiesel actually
cleans the injectors,î he said.
Hutchinson Salt Co. began using biodiesel in June 2003, and used 31,229 gallons
of B100 in the first year.
ìBiodiesel is a great fuel for use inside mines,î said Harold Kraus, soybean
farmer and NBB Director. ìIt is made from a natural product, so the air mine
workers breathe from B100 is also natural. Besides cutting emissions, biodiesel
also has a pleasant odor when it burns,î he said.
ìSoybeans are important to Kansas not only for the vegetable oil biodiesel
comes from, but also for the animal industry, as Kansas is the largest producer
of packed beef in the United States,î Kraus said. ìThe animal industry is the
largest user of soybean meal, for its feed, plus the waste fat from animals can
be made into biodiesel,î he said.
Biodiesel is the first and only alternative fuel to have fully completed the
Heath Effects testing requirements of the Clean Air Act. Dr. Bailus Walker,
MPH, past president of the American Lung Association of Washington, D.C., said,
ìThere is a recognition that petroleum-based products, with their toxins, are
affecting the health of the people. Thereís no question about it; the
epidemiological data is there, and it is solid. We need to explore in a more
aggressive way alternative fuels. I would strongly recommend, as a health
professional, we take a hard look at what is being accomplished with
biodiesel.î
The salt mine is one of more than 500 fleets using biodiesel. That number is
expected to continue to rise, in part due to a biodiesel tax incentive bill
that will take effect as law on January 1. The tax incentive should make
biodiesel more accessible to the general public as it will significantly narrow
the cost gap between biodiesel and regular diesel fuel, which will in turn fuel
demand and supply.
Other biodiesel users include the Missouri Department of Transportation, all
four branches of the military, NASA, Harvard University, the National Park
Service, U.S. Postal Service, L.L. Bean and others. About 300 retail filling
stations make various biodiesel blends available to the public, and more than
1,000 petroleum distributors carry it nationwide. Biodiesel offers similar fuel
economy, horsepower and torque to petroleum diesel while providing superior
lubricity.
The Hutchinson Salt Companyís main product is highway salt for inclement
weather. Clients include the states of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa and
Illinois, and the city of Chicago.
More information on the Kansas Soybean Commission is found at
www.kansassoybeans.org. Readers can learn more about biodiesel by visiting
www.biodiesel.org.
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