Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Biodiesel as a Sustainable Alternative to Petroleum Diesel in School Buses
EPA Grant Number: SU832488Title: Biodiesel as a Sustainable Alternative to Petroleum Diesel in School Buses
Investigators: Ferro, Andrea , Gonyo, Erica A. , Powers, Susan E. , S. Gorton, R. Plattner; , Williams, Matthew R. , Moll, A. , Rossner, Alan , Ghosh, Anirban , Ricks, B. , Bhayani, B. , McCarter, C. , Schreiner, C. , Knox, E. , Zheng, H. , Moore, H. , Matis, Hope , Haley, J. , Folsom, J. , Brown, J. , Buonocore, J. , Shandilya, K. , Hoffman, L. , Murphy, M. , Kipp, M. , Repholz, M. , Tushaj, M. , Quinn, M. , Narula, R. , Jachuck, Roshan , Hou, S. , Johnston, S. , Lewis, S. , Sheng, X. , Lessard, Z.
Institution: Clarkson University
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: September 1, 2005 through May 30, 2006
Project Amount: $9,588
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2005) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Challenge Area - Air Quality , Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
Diesel exhaust is potentially harmful to human health and is a significant air pollutant due to its composition of harmful chemical substances and impact on climate. One of the many current uses of diesel fuel in rural environments is in school buses; however, few studies have examined exposure to diesel exhaust in rural environments. The objective of this study is to examine the feasibility of using locally produced biodiesel as an alternative replacement fuel for the school buses to reduce children’s exposure to harmful exhaust, increase the use of renewable fuels, and improve the local economy. The local production of biodiesel, especially in rural areas that are economically depressed, will provide an opportunity to utilize local resources and increase economic development.
The project was broken into two major components.
- A systematic evaluation of the range of children’s exposure to diesel and biodiesel exhaust emissions from school buses in a cold climate in rural northern New York State; and,
- Assessment of the feasibility of producing biodiesel from local feedstocks, its implementation as a fuel for school buses in cold regions, and its impacts on the environment and economy.
Exposure to the diesel emissions was estimated by monitoring concentrations of diesel particulate at the school both in the fall and in the winter during loading and unloading of the buses. Results from the exposure monitoring were used to model the effects of switching from diesel to biodiesel as well as to estimate differences in the dose of particulate matter that children inhale from the exhaust of petroleum diesel vs. biodiesel.
The availability of resources to make biodiesel was studied to find the most economical, environmentally friendly, easy to implement, and continually available feedstock source for production. Alternative production processes were researched to find one which required minimal energy inputs, minimum waste generation, required little technical experience to operate, and produced high quality biodiesel at a cost competitive with diesel. To assess the environmental impacts of implementing biodiesel, the mass and energy flows were determined using a recent life cycle assessment for diesel and biodiesel. An economic analysis was utilized to determine if the production and implementation of biodiesel will have a notable impact on the economic development of this region.
The results of using biodiesel as an alternative fuel will affect people, prosperity, and the planet both during the present generation as well as future. Improvements will include the reduction of adverse health effects seen from diesel exhaust emissions, economic development of the northern New York region, a decrease in the dependence on diminishing oil resources, reduction of greenhouse gases, and the ability to locally produce a renewable cost effective fuel. This diesel/biodiesel study was presented to local school children and at various campus events and was used as a project-based learning tool at Clarkson University where it was incorporated into semester projects and lecture course material.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
Production of biodiesel from either the oil extracted from locally grown soybeans or waste vegetable oil from local restaurants was found to be feasible. A local soybean oil processing plant in Massena, NY, which has facilities to process 50,000 tons of soybeans annually, could provide soy oil and would benefit from expansion into biodiesel markets. Laboratory experiments that were conducted to transform these feedstocks into biodiesel allowed for optimization of the biodiesel production process converting triglyceride to biodiesel. Two processes were tested, a standard batch process and an innovative process intensification reactor that provides continuous and efficient flows in a small reactor. In both of these systems, over 90 % of the oil was converted to biodiesel from both waste vegetable oil and soybean oil. A preliminary implementation plan includes the production of biodiesel at the school and phase in of B20 (20% biodiesel, 80% petroleum diesel) use over three years as older buses are replaced. B20 is required rather than B100 due to the cold climate.
The switch from petroleum diesel to biodiesel will have positive impacts on the environment and the economy. A comparative lifecycle analysis of global warming potential between biodiesel and petroleum diesel indicated that when the CO2 absorption from soybean agriculture is considered, the global warming potential of biodiesel is decreased by 1073 g-eq of CO2 per gallon for B20 compared to that of petroleum diesel. A smaller decrease of 375 g-eq of CO2 per gallon for B20 is seen when waste vegetable oils are used instead of soybeans due lack of CO2 consumed in the agriculture phase. The implementation of biodiesel will decrease the use of petroleum diesel in school buses from 60,000 gallons/yr to 48,000. From an overall lifecycle perspective, this represents a 19% reduction in fossil fuel consumption.
Economic analysis showed that local production of biodiesel would have a positive impact on the economically depressed region of northern New York State. Either the use of soybean oil or waste vegetable oil will provide significant economic benefits if utilized. Choosing to purchase soybean oil from Ag Pro Soybean Processors, could stimulate demand for soybeans, helping poor local farmers by increasing their revenues and allowing them to plant a more soilefficient rotation of crops. Utilizing waste vegetable oil would creatively reuse a waste substance produced by the billions of gallons each year in the United States. Though transportation costs can be a significant consideration in larger biodiesel projects, which require shipping inputs and outputs over a large distance, it was determined that transportation costs would be minimal in the proposed project. The close proximity of Ag Pro Soybean Processors to Clarkson University makes transportation costs relatively inexpensive; comprising less than 10% of final purchase costs. Transporting waste vegetable oil to the proposed production facility would be even less expensive. Waste oil can be collected from culinary sites either on or a short driving distance from the Clarkson campus.
The human exposure and risk analysis did not demonstrate that bus emissions due to use of petroleum diesel at the school posed a significant threat to children t the Potsdam Elementary School as was expected. This was due to the improved policy instituted by the school where buses are now shut off immediately after arriving at school. Previously, buses idled outside the school for about 20 minutes during drop off and pick up periods. However, the semi-continuous instruments used to test air quality did show clear increases in ultrafine particle concentrations of more than 100,000particles/cc during bus arrivals and departures compared to less than 10,000particles/cc before the buses arrived. The indoor concentrations track outdoor concentration, but are typically lower. This indicates that the infiltration of outdoor particles is the primary source of indoor particles for this time period. Modeling efforts showed that using B20 in place of biodiesel would reduce the children’s inhalation of ultrafine particles from buses by approximately 20 ug/school day.
Conclusions:
Based on the findings, the use of biodiesel in Potsdam Central school buses can have far reaching effects to bring about a positive impact on the region due to the characteristics of this alternative fuel. The preliminary data collection does not show significant exposure problems with petroleum diesel, however there are other noteworthy benefits that will occur. The implementation of biodiesel will lead to a decrease in fossil fuel use as well as a decrease in global warming potential, as compared to that of diesel fuel, regardless of which feedstock is used. Local production of biodiesel will have a positive impact on the economically depressed region of northern New York State. The use of soybeans would in turn stimulate demand for soybeans, helping poor local farmers by increasing their revenues and allowing them to plant a more soil-efficient rotation of crops. The use of waste oil would creatively reuse a waste substance produced by the billions of gallons each year in the United States. If chosen as a model and implemented on a wide scale, both in the United States and abroad, it can increase the prosperity and health of many individuals.
Supplemental Keywords:
rural development, particulates, exposure, air, mobile sources, cold regions, children, biodiesel, global warming, RFA, Health, Scientific Discipline, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, TREATMENT/CONTROL, Sustainable Industry/Business, Sustainable Environment, Health Risk Assessment, Technology, Technology for Sustainable Environment, Children's Health, Environmental Policy, Environmental Engineering, Risk Assessment, air pollutants, petroleum alternative, air toxics, diesel exhaust, Human Health Risk Assessment, alternative fuel, biotechnology, pollution preventionRelevant Websites:
Biodiesel Use in School Buses: Exposure, Economics, Environment ExitThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.