Would You Like Fries With That Fill-up?

Would You Like Fries With That Fill-up?

With rising prices of fuels in the U.S., many trucking companies are looking for alternatives to diesel to supply their fleets.

One type of alternate fuel is biodiesel. In its simplest form, Biodiesel is made from renewable biological sources, such as vegetable oil from soybeans known as Soy Methyl Ester (SME or SOME).

B100 is the designation for pure, 100% biodiesel. This biodiesel is blended with Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD) fuel in different concentrations, such as:

• 20% Biodiesel to 80% ULSD, known as B20
• 5% Biodiesel to 95% ULSD, known as B5
• 2% Biodiesel to 98% ULSD, known as B2

If a truck is changed over to biodiesel, some maintenance requirements change, such as fuel filter changes. It is recommended to use coalescing fuel filters and that the interval be cut in half from normal intervals for the first two filter changes. This is due to the biodiesel’s cleaning properties which will break down old petroleum diesel fuel residuals in tanks and fuel lines. Normal fuel filter change intervals can be used after this initial transition.