Amtrak: Biodiesel trial results encouraging

In a research paper recently presented at a railroad environmental conference at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Amtrak reported that the use of B20 biodiesel (a blend of 20 percent pure biofuel and 80 percent diesel oil) also operated below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limits for the General Electric P32-8 locomotive used in the test. The locomotive carried an Amtrak decal indicating the use of B20 fuel and other special markings to make certain that only biodiesel fuel was used in the 3,200-hp, 12-cylinder engine built in 1991 and compliant with EPA’s Tier 0 standard.

“The trial design included one year of testing, evaluating the engine and gasket wear, determining the quality of air emissions, and regularly monitoring the quality of the biodiesel fuel,” said Roy Deitchman, Amtrak Vice President, Environmental, Health and Safety. “The results of the trial indicate the in-service locomotive was very reliable with the B20 blend, engine wear was limited, air emissions were below EPA limits for this generation of passenger locomotive, and the biofuel supply met industry standards.”

Amtrak received a $274,000 grant from the Federal Railroad Administration to carry out the research project in partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (Okla. DOT) on the Heartland Flyer, a daily train operated by Amtrak with state support from Oklahoma and Texas.

A Texas-based vendor supplied the biodiesel blend, and the trial received support on fuel and engine component evaluation from Chevron Oronite. The engine manufacturer provided input on warranty matters and some of the testing was carried out at the General Electric facility in Erie, Pa.

The trial was included in TIME magazine’s list of “The 50 Best Inventions of 2010” with a cartoon pointing out that the biodiesel blend included beef byproduct. Operating daily between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth, the Heartland Flyer was the first on the list of transportation inventions and only one of TIME's transportation innovations to be publically available.

“Routine use of biodiesel fuel at Amtrak is contingent on many factors, including cost vs. traditional ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel and availability,” Deitchman said. “But we found no significant engine performance issues during the trial and we were able to replace nearly 35,000 gallons of diesel with a renewable fuel that was locally produced.

Source: Railway Age