More than just a niche or a fad, biofuels produced from soybeans, used cooking oil, algae and even livestock fat are moving into the energy mainstream in a big way, with new applications in aviation, railroading and home heating.
Just this week, the first-ever U.S. commercial airline flight to be powered by biofuel got passengers from Houston to Chicago without a hitch. United Airlines, which flew the pioneering trip, says it plans to buy 20 million gallons a year of a 40 percent biofuel blend made from algae for its jetliners. In addition, Alaska Air planned to fly jets this week from Seattle to Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C., on a 20-percent mix of biofuel from cooking oil.
In late October, Amtrak reported that its Heartland Flyer passenger between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth has run on a biodiesel blend of 20 percent beef tallow, refined bovine fat typically made into soap. Amtrak said there were "no ill effects" and "no more wear on the locomotive" than with regular diesel fuel.
Meanwhile, biodiesel promoters are touting the advantages of a 2-5 percent blend in home heating oil, a 7 billion gallons-a-year industry that fires furnaces and boilers in much of the United States. A billion gallons is burned annually in New York City alone, where the trademarked Bioheat mixture is now being heavily advertised as readily adaptable without changing heating equipment. Starting next fall, at least 2 percent biodiesel will be required in all heating oil sold in New York City.
Minnesota has been a national leader in renewable fuels, enacting the nation's first ethanol and biodiesel mandates, the latter in 2002. The state currently requires 5 percent biodiesel, AKA B5, in diesel fuel, with some exemptions in winter. Next May, the Minnesota minimum will rise to B10; in 2015 it will be B20.
Biodiesel, the chief commercial biofuel, "is produced in nearly every state in the country and will support more than 31,000 U.S. jobs in 2011 while replacing nearly 1 billion gallons of petroleum diesel," said the National Biodiesel Board. The industry reported production of 119 million gallons in September, the sixth consecutive record month, bringing year-to-date sales to 686 gallons.
More potential biofuel sources are constantly being identified and researched, including wild-growing pennycress, jatropha and seashore mallow. The more the merrier, because biofuel production returns more than five times the fossil-based energy used to make it, slashing greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change. It has been officially designated a Clean Air Choice by the St. Paul-based American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest.
Noting the successful tests of biofuels in the air and on the rails, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said: "We are truly moving towards a green transportation network." It's a network that won't depend on foreign oil, either.
