Coast Guard Patrol Boat On Biodiesel

I recently went to the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT, with some biodiesel experts, including Gus Kellogg of Greenleaf Biofuels, to meet with Andy Foley, an engineering professor at the academy who is running several renewable-resource projects with cadets. We went for a ride on an out-of-service Coast Guard 41-foot patrol boat (the original 41, according to Foley). The port engine was running a mixture of 20-percent biodiesel (B20), and the starboard engine was running straight diesel. This photo, taken after the engines had warmed up for about five minutes, tells the story. And thats only a B20 ratio.

An interesting sidelight was that the B20 had been stored in an outside tank at the academy for over a year, and analysis of the B20 compared with straight petrodiesel stored for a similar time showed no degradation compared to straight petrodiesel. Because straight biodiesel (B100) is known to have a shelf life of about six months in temperate climates, Foleys research suggests that cutting biodiesel by 20 percent with petrodiesel effectively preserves it and maintains its "potency."

~ Doug Logan, "New Energy Watch"