Heat Your Home with Biodiesel

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SUPPLY AND DEMAND

U.S. biodiesel production was 15 million gallons in 2002 and should reach about 20 million gallons by the end of this year, according to Jenna Higgins, director of communications for the National Biodiesel Board, headquartered in Jefferson City, Missouri.

"There has been a lot of interest, particularly in the Northeast, in using biodiesel as a home heating oil," she says. "I think it's definitely a very strong potential market in the future."

Roughly three out of four U.S. homes using heating oil are in the Northeast, so the potential for expanding the use of biodiesel in that region is substantial.

But can biodiesel meet the increased demand? Residential consumption of No. 2 heating oil in 2001 was 6.6 billion gallons nationwide, according to the Energy Information Agency.

If every homeowner in this country currently heating with oil switched to 1320, 1.3 billion gallons of biodiesel would be needed. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), enough feedstocks exist today to produce 1.9 billion gallons of biodiesel. Another 5 to 10 billion gallons could be made from mustard seed, and billions more could potentially be made from algae. U.S. production of biodiesel could climb to 2.5 billion gallons per year by 2020, according to DOE projections.

REAL-WORLD TESTS

Since 2001, the Warwick, Rhode island, school district also has been conducting biodiesel fuel tests. During the first heating season, the district burned three different percentages of biodiesel (B10, B15 and B20) as well as a No. 2 fuel-oil control in a fourth school.

"It worked very, very well for us," says Bob Cerio, energy manager for the district. "We had three different types of burners, three different types of boilers, and three different sizes; so we had an opportunity to test a wide spectrum. With the smaller boilers, we were able to get similar test data to what people would be experiencing in their home."

After a successful first season, Cerio switched to a B20 blend for the 2002-2003 heating season without any problems. The district continues to use B20 and is no longer experimenting with any lower-percentage blends.

Cerio also tested boiler efficiency and measured emissions. He says although there has been no change in efficiency, emission reductions have been measured in sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. "We've also discovered that our boilers are running much cleaner, so that saves us quite a lot of work cleaning them."

"I used to refer to biodiesel as an alternative fuel, but now I call it an American fuel, made by American farmers. "'

He is enthusiastic about the use of biodiesel as a home heating fuel. "It's a very easy match for home heating, particularly if you have an indoor storage tank," he says. "Other than that, there really isn't anything that has to be done in order to use it."

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