October 20, 2004
TCAP buses full of beans
Traverse City one of 12 school districts to test out soybean biodiesel in bus fleet
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
It's the seven degrees that most concerns Ralph Altwies.
The assistant director of vehicle maintenance for Traverse City Area Public Schools, Altwies is ultimately responsible for getting nearly 8,000 students a day to the right place at the right time via a fleet of 120 buses.
He is cautiously optimistic about being one of 12 school districts in the state to test out a blend of biodiesel fuel in their buses this year. With a $5,000 matching grant from the Michigan Soybean Promotional Committee of the Michigan Soybean Association, Altwies will be testing out a diesel fuel that includes 20 percent soy-based biodiesel.
Known as B-20, this mix will be introduced into the fleet next month. No equipment modification will be required to use this biodiesel blend. During the test period this school year, Altwies will compile statistics and keep records on fuel mileage, oil changes and other data.
However, for a district situated in northern Michigan, the colder winter temperatures may affect the biodiesel fuel's performance.
This vegetable-based, renewable fuel can gel at below-freezing temperatures and Altwies is the man on the ground charged with reliability. In cold weather, diesel fuel starts to form ice crystals and Altwies noted that biodiesel raises this temperature sensitivity seven degrees. This makes it more likely that the blended fuel could freeze in winter.
Hence his plan to phase in the test fuel and see how it does.
"I'm all for clean air and helping the local economy," said Altwies of biodiesel fuel. "For maintenance, [there are] claims it is cleaner and I want to check that out."
"But my job in part is to be skeptical, cautious, and I need to know how it's going to affect operations," he added. "This is not a matter of which window cleaner we buy."
Already in the midst of a 2-million mile school year, he is hopeful the biodiesel lives up to its billing of a cleaner, safer, lower-maintenance fuel. But the new fuel blend will have to pass his acid test, first.
"This seven degrees is a big deal and picking up kids on time is a safety issue," Altwies said. "My goal is to get kids to and from school safe and on time. My job is to make sure that happens."
Biodiesel got a recent boost with the passage of American JOBS Creation Act of 2004 this month. Part of this federal law includes a biodiesel tax incentive that encourages use and production of a biodiesel fuel made from soybeans. Corn farmers also received a boost with an ethanol excise tax credit.
By encouraging and rewarding production for consumers and vehicle fleets, lawmakers hope to reduce the country's dependence on foreign petroleum sources.
According to the American Soybean Association, more than 400 vehicle fleets use a biodiesel blend in the United States. In addition, approximately 300 consumer gas stations offer it as well as more than 1,000 petroleum distributors around the country.
For Altwies, as he prepares to add biodiesel to the large underground storage tanks of fuel at the TCAPS bus garage facility, the many benefits of biodiesel - to the consumer, economy and environment - hang in the balance when compared to the students and families he serves.
"I'm hopeful that it does all they say it does," said Altwies, who has been with the district since 1982 and in his current position 11 years. "That's why we have to do it in steps."