TxDot says Biodiesel raises NOx Emissions

I sent an email to TxDot about ULSD and the use of biodiesel in diesel fuel.He said that BD20 actually raises the NOx instead of lowering it...Someone please tell me the truth....Thanks...Bobby...obviously TxDot has no desire to use BD THATS FOR SURE!

All else being equal - same EGR-equipped engine, same calibration - they are indeed correct, but the difference is only a few percent.

Biodiesel contains a higher oxygen content and a little lower energy density. Your engine electronics have no way of knowing this and compensating for it. It's basically like running with a little less EGR, and that means a little more NOx.

The papers that I've seen concerning biodiesel usage on EGR-equipped engines indeed show a slight increase in NOx and a big reduction in particulates.

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obviously TxDot has no desire to use BD THATS FOR SURE!

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now thats a surpise...

Check out the diesel additive on this page.. EXP4 It get's added to the biodiesel that I use to reduce the NOx emissions.

Scott

Has the EXP additive been tested with Biodiesel? Anyone with experience? Asking this because additives are proprietary, closely guarded chemical mixes.

I use it in every tank. I am currently running B20, due to the winter months. No problems what so ever. In fact, I have not suffered any mpg loss due to winter fuel or biodiesel, the engine seems to be running quieter and smoother.

Scott

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I sent an email to TxDot about ULSD and the use of biodiesel in diesel fuel.He said that BD20 actually raises the NOx instead of lowering it...Someone please tell me the truth....Thanks...Bobby...obviously TxDot has no desire to use BD THATS FOR SURE!

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What? Texas doesn't want to use biodiesel?! Shocking!

Biodiesel can slightly raise NOx emissions. Of course, since it has no sulfur, it will be perfectly compatible with the NOx adsorbing catalysts companies will be able to start using in late 2006 once the high sulfur diesel can no longer be sold in the US (sulfur kills those catalysts, which can remove up to 95% of NOx emissions).

Of course, countless reports have shown that REDUCING NOx emissions in cities, as the EPA wants to do, will likely actually make smog worse. This is because cities generally have a surplus of NOx emissions (VOCs and NOx combine together to make smog. When you have an excess of NOx, or no VOCs at all, the NOx actually destroys smog (NOx + O3 -> N2 + O2 essentially (yes, I know it doesn't balance. I simplified it for here)). So, the surplus NOx that cities currently have is actually destroying some smog. Reducing NOx emissions will end up making smog worse - unless VOCs are reduced far far more.

See http://www.osti.gov/fcvt/deer2000/lawsonpa.pdf
Page 15 has a nice ozone isopleth diagram showing a city in California at various points in time, its NOx and VOC levels, and smog level (indicated by color). Reducing NOx levels would move the city downward on the graph, into a higher smog region.

On page 18 of the presentation - "Analyses suggest South Coast Air Basin is hydrocarbon-limited with respect to ozone
formation, i.e., major NOx reduction programs will likely increase ozone formation and make it more difficult to attain the ozone standard".

That's essentially true of every city in the US.

The NOx issue is the achillies heel of the biodiesel industry. We need to figure out how to kill this beast as quickly as possible.

One idea is to conduct a set of new EPA Tier 1 emissions testing of neat biodiesel with various NOx-reduction and gell point reducing additives. End result: EPA certifies B99 with a broad range of NOx and Gell additives and also demonstrates that biodiesel does not increase NOx emissions.

Another approach is to convince the board members and commissioners of the California Air Resources Board and California Energy Commission that for all practical purposes, NOx increase due to biodiesel is not a reality...that some kind of NOx reduction and/or gell point reducing additive will always be used with biodiesel. There is one study of light duty diesel truck engines that used a blend of Arco's ECD-1 ULSD and Soy-based Biodiesel and found a reduction in NOx as compared to Standard CARB diesel. They also conducted a series of workshops on the "weekend effect" but unfortunately, they concluded that they will continue to clamp down on NOx emissions regardless of the recommendations of their staff reports. Argh!

-Chas

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One idea is to conduct a set of new EPA Tier 1 emissions testing of neat biodiesel with various NOx-reduction and gell point reducing additives.

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Tier II emission rules when into effect Jan. 1, 2004.