Minnesota State Agency Affirms B2 Mandate Not to Blame for Bus Woes

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (01/23/2009)(readMedia)-- Citing an independent study, the Minnesota Department of Commerce reiterated today that biodiesel was not the culprit that caused school buses in Bloomington, Minn. to malfunction last week.

"The problems with school buses in Minnesota had nothing to do with biodiesel," said Bill Walsh, Communications Director for the Minnesota Department of Commerce. "An independent investigation confirmed what we believed last week - when it gets to 20 degrees below zero in the Midwest, diesel engines have trouble operating unless they are properly maintained - whether or not they are using a biodiesel blend."

The report concluded components in diesel fuel caused the problem, even though the Bloomington School District claimed it was biodiesel.

"Nothing is more important than getting kids to school safely, which is why we worked proactively to find out exactly what troubled the buses in Bloomington," said Ed Hegland, National Biodiesel Board Chairman.

The report issued Friday by Meg Corp. and paid for by the distributor that supplied the fuel, Yokum Oil, analyzed filters from the buses that broke down. The buses were using B2, which is 98 percent petroleum diesel blended with 2 percent biodiesel. Minnesota has a statewide B2 mandate in effect. "We found that whatever was plugging the filters was not biodiesel, but a substance found in petroleum," the report concludes.

A B2 blend, when properly handled, will perform just like diesel. The biodiesel industry works closely with the petroleum industry and offers many resources regarding biodiesel use in cold climates.

The National Biodiesel Board offers fact sheets, testimonials, technical guidance and more on using B20 in cold weather online at www.biodiesel.org/cold.