Biomechanics Golden Meniscus

write a letter, save a diesel

By Kumar Plocher

More in the Spring 2009 issue

The current crop of new light duty diesel vehicles (car and truck models 2007½ and later) is not biodiesel compatible.

While this may come as a shock to you, I assure you that it is the truth.

The problem is the emissions system that the OEMs have chosen, called "in-cylinder post injection," or "late post injection." It unintentionally causes fuel to leak into the crankcase. This is okay in the case of diesel, which flashes off, but not in the case of biodiesel, which has too high a flashpoint and sticks around, building up and causing problems. In tests of a new Volkswagen TDI, even B5 presented serious issues!

Yes, they could have chosen something that would work fine with biodiesel (e.g. "exhaust stream post injection"), thus following the path of the heavier duty equipment manufacturers, but they didn't.

When I confronted a gentleman from VW about this at the National Biodiesel Conference in San Francisco, he responded, "Well, you should consider producing renewable diesel."
So-called "renewable diesel" is the much more energy-intensive result of putting vegetable oil into an oil refinery. The petroleum companies have obviously been working hard to make it the future of biofuels.

Please join me in a letter-writing campaign to get the OEMs making biodiesel-compatible light duty vehicles again.

Here are the main points to get across in your letters to the heads of these corporations (contact information follows):

+ You are a potential purchaser of new diesel vehicles, which you would not purchase, were it not for biodiesel

+ In order to purchase a diesel vehicle, you must have complete confidence that you can use the best fuel possible for your diesel vehicle, including blends of biodiesel fuel at percentages higher than B5

+ You believe in consumer choice, so it follows that diesel engine technology should be neither blend-level dependent, nor specific diesel fuel dependent (i.e. petro-diesel, biodiesel, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, "renewable diesel," etc.)

+ You agree with the Obama Administration that biodiesel has an important role in our energy future

+ You are aware that a number of biodiesel-compatible alternatives to "in-cylinder post injection" exist that accomplish the same emissions control goals

While I encourage you to tell your own story in your own voice, it is important to not miss any of the key talking points, if this campaign is going to be successful (and others like it have worked).

And if you think I sound like an establishment lobbyist, get over it! This is real, and requires our immediate action.

Case New Holland
Harold Boyanovsky
President and CEO
CNH Global N.V.
100 South Saunders Rd
Lake Forest, IL 60045

Cummins
Theodore M. Solso
Chairman and CEO
Cummins
PO Box 3005
Columbus, IN 47202-3005

GM/ Chevrolet
G. Richard Wagoner, Jr.
Chairman and CEO
General Motors
300 Renaissance Center
Detroit, MI 48265

Volkswagen
Len Hunt
Executive Vice President
Volkswagen of America, Inc.
2200 Ferdinand Porsche Rd.
Herndon, VA 20171

Caterpillar
James Owens
Chairman and CEO
Caterpillar Inc.
100 NE Adams St.
Peoria, IL 61629

Detroit Diesel
Carsten Reinhardt
President and CEO
Detroit Diesel Corporation
13400 Outer Dr. West
Detroit, MI 48239-4001

International
Daniel Ustian
President and CEO
Navistar International
4201 Winfield Rd.
Warrenville, IL 60555

Mercedes
Ernst Lieb
President and CEO
Mercedes-Benz USA
One Mercedes Dr.
PO Box 350
Montvale, NJ 07645

Chrysler/ Dodge/ Jeep
Robert Nardelli
Chairman and CEO
Chrysler LLC
PO Box 21-8004
Auburn Hills, MI 48321-8004

Ford Motor Company
Alan Mulally
President and CEO
Ford Motor Company
The American Rd.
Dearborn, MI 28121

John Deere
Robert W. Lane
Chairman and CEO
Deere & Company World Headquarters
One John Deere Place
Moline, IL 61265

Honda
John Mendel
Executive Vice President
American Honda Motor Co.
1919 Torrance Blvd.
Torrance, CA 90501

Kumar Plocher is founder and president of Yokayo Biofuels in Ukiah, CA.