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Do biofuels increase the cost of food? Across North America
and Europe, biofuel industry groups claim that commodities speculation and high
fossil fuel prices are to blame for price hikes at supermarkets. High
temperatures and drought are also factors, explain agricultural economists. But
is there more to the story?
Mandates, Targets, and Arguments
In 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection (EPA) rejected a
request by eight state governments to halt federal ethanol mandates, which
require the blending of corn-based fuel into gasoline. In an e-mailed
statement, the EPA rejected
the claim that using crops for fuel had caused "severe economic harm".
In Europe, the EU Parliament has also rejected calls to end a
requirement to use biofuels. In a recent compromise
that critics call "desperately weak," the Brussels-based body approved a 6% cap
on the contribution of biofuels to Europe's renewable transport energy target
of 10% by 2020.
Environmentalists dressed-up like ears of corn to protest the
EU's policy, and pointed to a 2012 UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report
linking higher food prices to increased demand for biofuels. Activists also
claimed that biofuels cause increased carbon emissions and deforestation.
Biodiesel and Engine Maintenance
As the co-owner of a company with customers that may burn
biofuels, I'd like to examine another aspect of this debate. Businesses that
maintain diesel-powered equipment need to consider that petroleum diesel and
biodiesel have different chemical properties. So while biofuels may reduce
emissions, some blends could damage rubber components and harm your engine.
Let me back up a bit - especially before CR4's biofuel
supporters take offense. Recently, a customer reported that a rubber door seal on
a fuel tank had failed after several weeks. Fuel splash and vapor caused the
custom gasket to disintegrate, sending small pieces of rubber through the fuel
line and clogging the engine. Did the customer switch from petroleum diesel to
biodiesel?
Extensive testing revealed an issue with the seal material
(and not the fuel), but the incident prompted us to ask for opinions in the Sealing
Technology Group on LinkedIn. The resulting dialog covered topics ranging
from chemical compatibility and batch tolerances to tribology to synthetic
fuels. Here's hoping we can have another great conversation here on CR4.
Material Selection and Chemical
Compatibility
As a manufacturer of high-performance materials for the
petrochemical industry explained, most biofuels are a mixture of fatty acids. Created
by the reaction of natural oils with triglycerides and ethanol or methanol,
biofuels aren't long-chain hydrocarbons like in distilled crude diesel. The
presence of a polar species in the fuel, this expert explained, could cause a
rubber seal to swell or degrade.
The general manager at maintenance and repair organization
(MRO) offered a different perspective. If the fuel in the tank wasn't
biodiesel, was it ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD)? Perhaps the mechanics added
an agent to replace lost lubricity, or to help keep the fuel injectors clean.
In marine environments, anti-biological agents that prevent the growth of algae
can also affect seal life.
Conclusions
So are biofuels bad for your budget? Do they increase the
cost of food and the likelihood of expensive engine repairs? Hopefully, these
questions will spark a lively debate. Yet I hope this blog entry will also
encourage you to consider the so-called "food vs. fuel" debate in a different
way.
If you're thinking of changing from petroleum diesel to
biodiesel, are your fuel door seals and engine seals also ready for the
switch?
About the
Author: Doug Sharpe is the President of Elasto Proxy, Inc. (Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada), supplier of sealing
solutions and custom-fabricated rubber and plastic parts to a variety of
industries, including automotive and mobile specialty vehicles.
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