Ball State University is leading Midwestern colleges in an effort to improve the environment through the use of bio-diesel fuel.
In November, Ball State received its third consecutive certificate of recognition from the National Wildlife Foundation for its use of the soy-based fuel.
Gary Barrett, petroleum manager for AgBest, Muncie's bio-diesel distributor, said bio-diesel burns hotter and longer than regular diesel. Because of the difference, customers use less of the fuel at one time.
Bio-diesel also burns cleaner than fossil-fuel-based diesel, emitting less pollutants into the air and leaving the burner unit as clean as it was before the fuel ran through it, he said.
Most of AgBest's customers are farmers or schools, including Ball State, Barrett said. Most of the university's shuttle buses run on bio-diesel fuel. Also, all of the transportation buses, construction vehicles, lawnmowers, snow removal vehicles and emergency generators run on bio-diesel, Barrett said.
Lou George, Ball State's garage supervisor, said 17 out of 18 shuttle buses use 20 percent bio-diesel fuel. The university bought the 18th bus, a hybrid, in April.
AgBest also provides bio-diesel fuel to the construction companies working on Ball State's campus.
"They could ask for conventional fuel," Barrett said. "But they're not doing that."
The construction crews wanted to work for the same standards that Ball State works for, Barrett said.
"Most construction companies don't do that," he said. "They specifically found us and said, 'We want bio-diesel.'"
George said the university began using bio-diesel in February 2003 to better the environment on campus. Bio-diesel decreases the dependency on foreign oil and reduces nominal pollutants that a normal engine puts out, he said.
Bio-diesel Use
AgBest switched its customers to bio-diesel in January from regular diesel. Barrett said most companies offer 2 percent bio-diesel, which means 2 percent of the mixed product is soy oil, but Agbest offers both 2 percent and 20 percent.
"This is still an untapped resource," Barrett said. "So many people are afraid of it, but there's no reason to be."
However, because soy oil is present in the diesel, customers must "winterize" the fuel or it will freeze in cold weather. The more soy oil there is in a mixture, the more preservatives customers must use to retain the right consistency of the fuel. AgBest adds the preservatives to the mix for its customers, Barrett said.
Bernard Engel, chair of the agricultural and biological engineering department at Purdue University, said students at Purdue were researching ways to keep the fuel from becoming gel.
"Some will thicken and not flow as you like," Engel said.
Besides researching winterization techniques, he said Purdue students were looking into ways bio-diesel could be used to heat homes.
Companies in the northeast United States are using bio-diesel already for a product called BioHeat to prepare for the predicted harsh winter.
Barrett said using bio-diesel as a form of heating fuel is a trend headed for Indiana.
"Getting the public to this point took three or four years," Barrett said. "It's taken an awful lot of stomping out misinformation about bio-diesel. Just like Indiana is a hot spot for road bio-diesel, New England will be a hot spot for home heating."
Career Opportunities
Barrett said Indiana was one of the top bio-diesel distributors, and Engel said more bio-diesel facilities were likely to open in 2006.
Students graduating in upcoming years will have the opportunity to go into the bio-diesel field as more facilities open.
"There is a potential for the design of those facilities," Engel said.
About eight to 10 bio-diesel facilities are in the process of being created in Indiana, he said.
Similar to a grain processing factory, a bio-diesel company will require a variety of positions that will need to be filled, Engel said. An individual will have to be hired to oversee processes, and more individuals will be needed to oversee specific processes, he said.
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