Clear BioDiesel..... have you seen it?

[Mrrogers1]

Ok, so we have a Terror Free Oil gas station here in town (close to town). Finding bio isn't all that easy here in Omaha and really Nebraska in general. I did find B20 at the Sapp Bro's truck stop but sadly enough, it was on a truck nozzle. I did it once, but I'll never painstakingly take 25min to pump 13g of fuel into my TDI ever, EVER again. I had to try, but it was not enjoyable.... driving away was though. (*Sapp does have B5 as well on a car nozzle and I'll test that out on my next tank.)

So I filled up with some B5 at $2.38/g and noticed the fuel was crystal clear, like water. I had never seen that before so I have dispatched an email to the station owners to get some information. I'm asking what the D2 source is (it just says from Canada/USA sources at the station), what the cetane rating is of the D2 base AND what the BioDiesel stock and producer is.

I figured I'd just see if any of you have seen this before.

 

[velociT]

The B20 I used to fill up with was always light green.

 

[Mrrogers1]

Yeah, I have never seen clear diesel at all. The B20 was green as was the B2 I bought at a BP in Iowa. (*the Shell D2 I usually splash blend with is greenish too. I'm trying the commercial BioD as splash blending with B99, cost wise, makes no damn sense. Soy B99 was $3.25 a gallon last time I bought it.

 

[RC]

Now you have seen it.

Proctor and Gamble feedstock sourced B100, food grade soybean oil which is a byproduct of their glycerin extraction process.

And this stuff is about 10 years old!

 

[Lug_Nut]

But that's B100 in the jugs. The original poster was asking about clear D95.
(B5 is not biodiesel in my opinion).

 

[Mrrogers1]

But that's B100 in the jugs. The original poster was asking about clear D95.
(B5 is not biodiesel in my opinion).

Yeah, it's a pretty weak mix but until I have access to more "potent" stuff at much "nicer" price, I gotta go with what I got. I'm a member of the Omaha Biofuels Coop and we were evicted from our original place of "residency" so B99 is really not feasible for me right now., which sucks.

Until we find a new home and can get back to brewing, I'm using whatever I can get my hands on at a reasonable price.

I guess I should try the Terror Free regular diesel and see what color and how it performs. Maybe it's just that their D2 isn't dyed or something.

 

[RC]

I was a bit confused about exactly what type/blend Mrrogers was asking about, so I just went with the title.

I've never seen clear D2, but then again I've seen very little D2 in my life with diesels. But you've gotta start somewhere so clear B100, particularly at high concentration blends, is a must if you want clear fuel.

 

[Lug_Nut]

I was told, (and as Wiki says: citation needed) that the clear B100 is soy based, but with the vitamin K removed before transesterification.

 

[RC]

Yes, I do know that this particular batch was virgin soy based. The rest about vitamin K was not shared with me at the time, interesting as it is.

 

[cessna]

The ethanol plants I'm an investor in use a centifuge to extract corn oil from the distillers grain. They are selling some of this oil to a company that extracts a protein and then makes biodiesel. It is a deep yellow color and my TDI seems to love it. Around here anything that isn't dyed red is considered clear.

 

[silverstar03]

Biodiesel can be clear. I've seen homebrew that you could read a newspaper through (settled and water-free.) I've also seen commercial B100 that was distilled to remove impurities, and was crystal clear.

 

[myke_w]

I've also seen commercial B100 that was distilled to remove impurities, and was crystal clear.

Ditto - I've also seen and run the colorless bio, got it from a bulk fuel supplier. Worked great for me.

 

[Mrrogers1]

Well all of this sounds good and so far, my car seems to like it pretty well. I'll report back after this tank and will let you all know.

So I've got a clear D2 and Bio here, just hoping I can give you guys more info based on a reply from the station owners.

 

[Shawnz]

Around here anything that isn't dyed red is considered clear.

As dark as my Bio is from waste oil I was wondering it if might get flagged as off-road diesel - lol. The 2L bottle is filled with bio.

 

[iamatt]

The palm based virgin oil I use is crystal clear, like mineral oil.

 

[Lightflyer1]

As dark as my Bio is from waste oil I was wondering it if might get flagged as off-road diesel - lol. The 2L bottle is filled with bio.

It might be enough to get you for bio or other untaxed fuel. Some have had problems.

 

[Shawnz]

It might be enough to get you for bio or other untaxed fuel. Some have had problems.

I think the chances of getting checked are quite slim but I'll hang onto my receipt from the fuel purchase (and taxes paid) just in case. Of course I can't prove that the fuel I bought from the local Bio supplier is the fuel that was in the car but it's better than nothing.