Did Bad Biodiesel Really Close Bloomington’s Schools?
As I braved another -18 degree commute to work this morning, I heard that Bloomington schools had been closed because “the biodiesel in the buses had turned to gel.” Sure enough, the story is all over the Twin Cities media, and is now on the national newswires. However, this story out of KEYC-TV tells a very different tale. Several commentors on the Strib story note that the straight petroleum #2 diesel fuel commonly used in school buses, tractors and semis across the U.S. has a proven track record of “gelling” in temps. like these — which is one reason why truckers keep their rigs running overnight in extreme cold. They also add a little #1 diesel (aka kerosene) in their tank to prevent fuel gelling.
Or, they could do what the Bloomington School spokesperson did — just blame the two percent biodiesel blend. BTW, there are thousands of diesel vehicles, including school buses and city buses, on the road in Minnesota right now, all using the same B2 biodiesel fuel that the Bloomington schoolbuses use. If biodiesel was really at fault, wouldn’t they all be gelled? Oddly, no reporter seems to have asked this question.
[…] buses on the road that morning, all running on the same B2 mix the Bloomington school buses use. I posted my doubts on a local blog and sent copies to local reporters. Soon, others began to have doubts, […]
See my first Gas 2.0 post, on this same subject.
http://gas2.org/2009/01/22/some-cold-truth-about-biodiesel-in-minnesota/
[…] of radio yappers, bloggers and teevee hosts have taken the Bloomington school bus/biodiesel story I discussed here earlier and have run with it, even though most should now know that the initial reports that biodiesel […]
The Strib, with the final word:
http://tinyurl.com/b35rjj