Apparently people aren’t the only
ones who suffer clogged arteries and need a bypass.
Two months ago the state of Minnesota, the
nation’s leading biodiesel maker, passed a law requiring all diesel be replaced with biodiesel. Now truckers who
use the fuel are discovering their vehicle’s fuel filters are clogging with the soybean-blended fuel the most
likely culprit.
“What we believe is occurring is that some of the biodiesel is fairly high in
glycerin, which is a saturated fatty acid, essentially,” said John Hofland, a spokesman for Flint Hills Resources,
which refines half of the state’s diesel fuel. “At certain glycerin levels, there appears to be a waxy
substance forming at temperatures of zero to minus-10. What we’ve determined is, if we use a biodiesel that’s lower in
glycerin, we don’t see this problem in colder weather.”
The Minnesota trucking industry, with the
support of the state’s soybean growers, has asked state governor Tim Pawlenty to waive (temporarily) the biodiesel
requirement.