From ABC Finance, Australia
The Federal Government has moved to establish a national standard for biodiesel.
Environment Minister Ian Campbell plans to have a quality standard for blended fuels within months.
Almaty, Kazakhstan — In what may be the most ambitious promotion of diesel engines ever, a ragged caravan of Mercedes-Benz E-Class diesel cars arrived in this Central Asian metropolis this week.
Among more than 60 diesels, including support trucks and other vehicles, were two 2007 Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec diesels driven by two teams of American reporters.
A recent study by the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) concludes that vehicles using a B20 biodiesel blend (20% biodiesel and 80% petroleum diesel) do not produce an increase in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. These findings counter those of an earlier Environmental Protection Agency 2002 report showing a two-percent increase in NOx emissions for B20.
For the study, NREL tested entire vehicles on a heavy-duty chassis dynamometer at its Renewable Fuels and Lubricants Research Laboratory (ReFUEL). The vehicles included three transit buses, two school buses, two Class 8 trucks, and one motor coach.