Renewable Diesel Vs. Biodiesel: "Renewable diesel plant proposed at Prince George Refinery"

[LowMilesLesabre]

Curious to see how this will evolve as a bridge to keep diesels relevant while the switch to EVs unfolds.

“Renewable diesel differs from bio diesel in that it lacks the oxygen that makes bio diesel prone to separation and unsuitable for cold temperatures without blending; renewable diesel does not require blending with traditional diesel to be utilized, and is, therefore not subject to blending limitations,” Tidewater’s report said. “Once in operation, the Prince George renewable diesel facility is estimated to have a carbon intensity (CI) rating of 10-20 g CO2eq/MJ, which yields an ~80-90% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions based on various viable feedstocks.”

Renewable diesel plant proposed at Prince George Refinery

Plant would be the first of its kind in Canada

www.princegeorgecitizen.com

 

[Passport1]

Renewable diesel

Years ago I had a Volvo diesel with the six cylinder VW engine. I collected waste vegetable oil from fish fries and local restaurants. Chinese was best because they didn't use their oil too long. I filtered it with plastic mesh filters bought on ebay and added it to my fuel tank in about a 50/50 mix. In colder weather I would cut it with kerosene to keep the viscosity low enough to start the engine. The car ran fine for years on that diet until it died from electrical problems. I bet I ran through several hundred gallons of veggie oil. It would have gotten discarded if I didn't collect it.

The exhaust from that Volvo smelled just like French fries.

 

[CleverUserName]

Renewable diesel

Years ago I had a Volvo diesel with the six cylinder VW engine. I collected waste vegetable oil from fish fries and local restaurants. Chinese was best because they didn't use their oil too long. I filtered it with plastic mesh filters bought on ebay and added it to my fuel tank in about a 50/50 mix. In colder weather I would cut it with kerosene to keep the viscosity low enough to start the engine. The car ran fine for years on that diet until it died from electrical problems. I bet I ran through several hundred gallons of veggie oil. It would have gotten discarded if I didn't collect it.

The exhaust from that Volvo smelled just like French fries.

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Renewable Diesel AKA Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil is completely different from Biodiesel or WVO.

It’s mostly waste fats that get processed and go through a chemical treatment followed by refining and extreme HP hydrotreating in a fractionation column.

It is clear and has a neutral smell. Exhaust smells faintly of nitromethane. Fuel economy is 5% less than diesel #2 accompanied with a reduction in low end torque.

RD became available in CA in 2017, and I used it exclusively for a number of years in a few CR diesel vehicles until an event occurred which made me stop using it.

I had some Renewable Diesel in a graduated cylinder, used it to fill up the fuel filter housing after installing a new filter. It was in the trunk and after a short time it started to break down (hydrolyze?) became hard and had a very unpleasant smell. Not sure if this was a bad batch or if the fuel itself is unstable. It is also a very dry fuel, which has been known to cause fuel leaks in older style diesels which use rubber in the fuel system. It is common for people who start using this fuel in older VW 1.9 TDIs to replace rubber parts with Viton which resists the shrinking effects of RD.

 

[tnt_motorsports]

I think that the current EPA emissions standards are hampering this due to cleanliness concerns and quality of end product. On older diesel vehicles motor on, but newer vehicles are not very tolerant to contamination in fuel. I’m not sure I’d use it in a new FT4 emissions vehicle with DEF.

just my $0.02