Posted on 01/16/2009 8:35:57 AM PST by MplsSteve
All schools in the Bloomington School District will be closed today after state-required biodiesel fuel clogged in school buses Thursday morning and left dozens of students stranded in frigid weather, the district said late Thursday.
Rick Kaufman, the district's spokesman, said elements in the biodiesel fuel that turn into a gel-like substance at temperatures below 10 degrees clogged about a dozen district buses Thursday morning. Some buses weren't able to operate at all and others experienced problems while picking up students, he said.
"We had students at bus stops longer than we think is acceptable, and that's too dangerous in these types of temperatures," Kaufman said.
About 50 of the district's 10,000 students were affected. Some waited at bus stops for up to 30 minutes; others were stuck on stalled buses.
Backup buses were sent out, but four of the district's 10 backup buses were also affected, Kaufman said.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Bloomington is a southern (and first-ring suburb) of Minneapolis. It's also one of the 5 largest cities in the state. I know it well. I grew up and went to high school there.
It seems like only a small number of students were affected by yesterday's bus trouble. But given the terribly cold weather (which I may add, is a fact of life in Minnesota), it was probably safer to cancel school entirely than risk lives.
It certainly looks that, for all of its benefits, that biodiesel fuel may not be the answer in certain climates.
Comments or opinions - anyone?
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I read where one of the airlines are using the bio fuel. How can that be at such high altitudes?
Kids are different these days. Article sez state-required biodiesel fuel clogged in school buses Thursday morning and left dozens of students stranded in frigid weather. Stranded? Because the school bus was late? Kids stood around and shivered, waiting patiently? School bus more than 3 minutes late, I was outa there.
At least some jetliners have ways to heat the fuel in the fuel tanks and keep it above a certain temperature.
}:-)4
Might be nice for folks to know the names of those who required this.
I think this is a good lesson to kids that idealism doesn’t always bow to reality.
If they're using 5% bio, I'd blame the people who didn't additize the fuel properly, not the bio. >30% bio probably isn't a great idea in very cold temperatures.
Might be nice for folks to know the names of those who required this.
Easy. They are the ones with 0bama and Franken stickers on their cars.
The last remaining subscribers to the Mpls. Red Star/Trib
The oil treated for chain saw blade lubrication ,transmission grease,all become slow to pour in very cold weather.
I think one needs to pick fuel and lubricants carefully.
Although I live in southeastern Indiana,I have seen the thermometers in this little valley reading MINUS 35 degrees F a half dozen or more times in a half-century!Usually wintertime lows are in the 0 to minus 10 ,and only on the coldest days.
Where is global warming now?(It was in the minus 10 this morning.
Both mineral and bio-diesel fuel will “gel” (more accurately, “cloud”) in deep sub-zero temps.
The issue with biodiesel is more severe, but it also matters how good the quality of the biodiesel is. Crappy biodiesel gels quickly, and the better quality stuff holds up about as well as #2.
#2 diesel fuel will start to cloud somewhere between -10F and +5F. Somewhere in there. There is no strict specification for when it should cloud to which refiners adhere. Here in Wyoming where it can get pretty cold, most diesel you buy at a fuel station will have #1 diesel, or kerosene, mixed into the fuel in varying proportions, starting in December. By this time of year, some fuel stations are pre-mixing about 40% #1 into the fuel you’re buying. This reduces clouding problems, but it also cuts the BTU content of the fuel you’re buying. TANSTAAFL.
Summary: it isn’t just biodiesel that has problems in sub-zero weather. It is diesels period. And unless the bus mechanics mix some #1 or other anti-gel additive into the fuel, it will cause problems in this weather. Some enviro-twink probably insisted on pure biodiesel to make a point.
Man, liberals lampoon themselves:
(1) Biodiesel/biofuel hailed as answer to the “crisis” of GLOBAL WARMING;
(2) State mandates biodiesel/biofuel for school buses;
(3) [Pause here for reality to intrude];
(4) Buses fueled with biodiesel can’t run because it’s TOO COLD.
AGW cultists may end up putting The Onion out of business.
Didn’t know that, thanks.
Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty, for one.........
Regular diesel does this as well. There’s some additive that has to be added in the winter. It’s not the fault of biodiesel.
I’m in northeast Wisconsin and it’s cold here too.
I guess I thought they makers had already came up w/ a solution for cold.
I have a Duramax diesel for my personal vehicle and I drive over 3000 miles per month across, Minnesota, N. Dakota and Montana, so I see the need for extra care in what kind of fuel I use. Apparently, these idiots did not think that using vegetable oil substitutes would make a difference in sub zero conditions. (Zero as in Obama.)
Imagine risking the safety of children to “prove” their “Green” agenda. In conditions like this, bio diesel turns to peanut butter, while expensive #1 diesel flows like wine and burns like jet fuel no matter how cold it gets.
The idiots get what they deserve. They should have had enough experienced mechanics, etc, on staff that would have put their foot down to correct this stupidity and protect the safety of these children.
Believe me, in these kind of conditions, it is life threatening when a vehicle stalls. These children are loaded onto a very warm bus and are lightly dressed, with no emergency survival equipment. When the engine quits, it only takes a few minutes to turn sub-zero inside the bus.
But these arrogant Leftists will still ignore their ignorance and keep pushing their “Green” agenda in spite of the safety of our children. This has to stop.
Ladies and gentlepeople we have good news and bad news. First the bad news our tank heaters have failed, and now the good news, we will be serving corn flavored Jello for lunch
Biodiesel has entirely different characteristics in this kind of cold. Regular additives like 911 or anti-jell do not work as well and do not penetrate fouled lines in biodiesel. Biodiesel for commercial fuel use has paraffin added. (Canning wax)
Bio diesel is a substitute for diesel in Southern climates but like ethanol, it does not burn as well and is not as efficient due to lower cetane ratings. It requires expensive additives to bring it up to the level of real diesel. Which, in my opinion, is not worth it even during warmer seasons. Many truckers agree with me.
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