Problems with biodiesel

It seems that the oils in biodiesel can go rancid just like regular cooking oils. The city of Roaring Fork, Colorado just found this out... From the Colorado Post Independent:

Transportation authority deals with biodiesel scum
Algae problems in biodiesel fuel threatened to put the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority�s bus fleet out of service in October before being discovered.

"It kind of caught us off guard, quite frankly," RFTA official Ken Osier told U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Manassa, during a visit by Salazar to RFTA�s Glenwood Springs office Monday.

The problem occurred after RFTA used a $25,000 state grant to start using diesel with a 5 percent blend of biodiesel fuel, which is derived from vegetable oil.

Just as cooking oil can go rancid, biodiesel can go bad. Osier, RFTA�s director of maintenance, said algae growth can produce something akin to the green scum that sometimes forms on top of ponds.

"That�s what we were pulling out of our fuel tanks," Osier said.

Osier said in an interview that things "got real shaky" for RFTA�s fleet before it determined the problem. It was blocking filters, causing problems with pumps, and threatening to result in widespread bus breakdowns as RFTA entered its busy winter season.

It turns out the problem is quite common in biodiesel but can be detected with tests and reduced with an anti-algae treatment, Osier said. But he said RFTA�s biodiesel supplier failed to provide any warning.

"We had a long talk with them about it," he said.

"a long talk" indeed... Any technology has a steep learning curve and biodiesel is just another one in a long long line. If there was a supplier of biodiesel in our area, I would use it for our tractor but the closest place is about 20 miles away and I don't feel like hauling tanks around when a good source of regular diesel is about two miles down the road. Drive Buttercup down whenever she needs her tank topped off...