Decreased performance? Difficult to add at your locations, and for your customers to run their vehicles on? Cold weather problems?
If this is what you’ve heard about biodiesel, you’ve heard wrong. Get the facts about a fuel that can help convenience stores increase sales — a fuel whose consumption in the U.S. grew 632% from 2010 to 2018, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
EASY TO USE
MYTH: Using biodiesel requires modifications to engines and fueling infrastructure.
FACT: Biodiesel blends up to B20 are drop-in fuels, meaning they require no modifications to diesel engines or fueling infrastructure. You can use the equipment you have, and your customers can fill up and go.
YEAR-ROUND FUEL
MYTH: Biodiesel use is limited to summer months only.
FACT: Biodiesel is a year-round fuel. Fleets have driven millions of miles in cold weather on biodiesel blends up to B20. It’s important to know the fuel’s Cloud Point, but proper storage, handling and additive use help fleets run confidently on biodiesel blends in the winter.
HIGH-PERFORMANCE DIESEL
MYTH: Biodiesel performs poorly in diesel engines.
FACT: Biodiesel has superior lubricity and higher Cetane than petroleum diesel. Blends up to B20 provide similar horsepower, torque and fuel mileage in diesel engines. Fleets are also reporting fewer issues with diesel particulate filters on Tier 4 engines thanks to biodiesel’s cleaner burn.
BIODIESEL VS. RENEWABLE DIESEL
MYTH: C-stores and fleets should switch to renewable diesel because it’s a better overall fuel than biodiesel.
FACT: Renewable diesel is a great fuel — but not clearly “better” than biodiesel — and is currently in short supply with most of the nation’s renewable diesel supply going to the West Coast. In addition to being widely available, biodiesel reduces overall greenhouse gas emissions more and costs less than renewable diesel.
BLENDING RENEWABLE DIESEL AND BIODIESEL
MYTH: Renewable diesel should not be blended with biodiesel.
FACT: Blending high-quality biodiesel with renewable diesel results in a fuel that features the best characteristics of both fuels, including significantly lower emissions and great performance. It also helps customers stretch their supply of renewable diesel. Renewable Energy Group offers a blend called REG Ultra CleanTM Diesel, and it’s being used successfully by c-stores and fleets.
FOOD SUPPLY IMPACT
MYTH: Biodiesel production negatively impacts the food supply and causes rising prices.
FACT: Biodiesel is made from excess or waste fats and oils from animals and plants, so it has no impact on the food supply. In fact, biodiesel supports food production by creating additional revenue streams for excess or waste fats. It is a food-then-fuel approach.
GET MORE FACTS
Want to learn how you, and your customers, can benefit from biodiesel? Contact REG, North America’s largest biodiesel producer, at [email protected] or (844) 405-0160.