Two Canadian trucking groups are calling for a more standardized approach in the way mandatory biodiesel programs are being introduced. Among the chief concerns are how higher grades react with older engines.

SURREY, B.C. — The BC government and Ottawa need to drastically change the way they plan to roll out their mandatory biodiesel programs or risk watching truckers shut down their rigs, say two of the nation’s largest trucking groups.

In a letter, the BCTA urged Blair Lekstrom, minister of energy, mines and petroleum resources, to plug up holes in the Renewable Fuel Requirement, which requires that the entire provincial diesel pool contain an average of 5 percent biodiesel annually starting in January 2010.

The problem with the rule, as exclusively reported in the April issue of Today’s Trucking (also available online as this week’s web feature) is that the actual blend at the pump is left free to vary between the stated value based on customer demand.

Not surprisingly, some large commercial customers with market leverage will be able to demand little to no biodiesel content, leaving the supplier no choice but to comply with the B5 average rule by dumping biodiesel blends higher than B5 onto customers with less buying power. Truckers come to mind.

That’s a big problem for carriers in colder climates, where notorious cold flow and gelling issues associated with higher biodiesel blends on older engines can be a major issue. Also, most engines are not approved for blends higher than B5 and truckers who unknowingly fill up with B10 or B15 could find themselves with warranty dilemmas.

[source - todaystrucking.com]