Bioheat Myths and Facts

MYTH:
Bioheat is not a viable fuel for the future.

FACT:
Bioheat has been thoroughly tested. It has been deemed a comparable fuel to heating oil by ASTM. It has been endorsed by the OilHeat Manufacturers Association and the National Oiheat Research Alliance (NORA). Bioheat is already in thousands of home providing clean,m realiable heat. Beacause of its renewable component, bioheat stands apart from other fuels when it comes to environmental stewardship, energy security and consumer confidence. Bioheat is here to stay.

MYTH:
Bioheat may adversely affect heating oil equipment.

FACT:
Major equipment manufacturers have been very active in the ASTM process to approve Bioheat blends up to 5% in ASTM D396 and fully support 5% biodieel in their equipment. Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) , through funding provided by the National Biodiesel Board and NORA, has conducted an evaluation of B5 and has formally announced that equipment intended to use Bioheat up to 5% is compliant with applicable ASTM fuel standards. The Oilheat Manufacturers Association has endorsed the use of Bioheat.

MYTH:
Bioheat doesn't work in cold weather.

FACT:
The ASTM specifications have been set so that Bioheat made with up to 5% biodiesel can be handled just as you would handle conventional heating oil. Since Bioheat is a blend of biodiesel and heatin goil, and the finished blends up to 5% biodiesel meet the same specs as heating oil, the same management practices used for traditional heating oil should be employed with Bioheat. In most cases, this is all handled by the fuel dealer and, using these traditional management practices, high quality Bioheat has been used successfully in the coldest climates. If you need more information regarding the best practices for addressing cold weather with Bioheat, the National Biodiesel Board has set up the Biodiesel Education Netowrk (BEN) and a feature called "Ask BEN'. You can get quick answers to your questions at the Ask BEN web site. http://www.biodiesel.org/askben.

MYTH:
Bioheat does not perform as well as conventional heating oil.

FACT:
One of the major advatages of Bioheat is that D396 fuels, containing up to 5% biodiesel, can be used in home heating oil equipment in exactly the same way as standard heating oil. No modifications are needed to the equipment. Performance attributes, sucha s lubricity and global climate change, are actually improved.

MYTH:
Bioheat does not have sufficient shelf life.

FACT:
The ASTM specification for B100 biodiesel used in Bioheat has a stringent stability parameter as defined by ASTM D6751. This is more stringent than heating oil which has no specification for stability or storage life. The ASTM D6751 specification was set to ensure a biodiesel blend shelf life of a minimum of six months. Most testing indicates blends made with ASTM D6751 biodiesel with stay within specification for 12 months or longer in storage. You should treat Bioheat blends like conventional home heating oil to protect the finished blend from fuel degradation associated with time and temperature.

MYTH:
Bioheat is just used veggie oil and has fuel quality problems.

FACT:
In order for a fuel to be called Bioheat, it can only be nmade with ASTM D6751 grade biodiesel. Raw vegetable oils, animal fats, or used cooking oils-and any other product that does not meet ASTM standards-are NOT biodiesel and may cause serious problems. Beware of "imposter biodiesel" products claiming that they are just as good as biodiesel. Only ASTM D6751 grade biodiesel will provide the trouble-free usage and the benefits that have been proven with over $60 million in R&D (research and development) over the last 15 years. A great way to insure you are getting quality Bioheat is to purchase from companies certified under the biodiesel industry fuel quality program, BQ-9000. See www.bq-9000.org for more information and a listing of the BQ-9000 approved companies that consistenly hit the ASTM quality mark.

MYTH:
Bioheat contributes to food shortages.

FACT:
Biodiesel is a renewable fuel-produced each year from oils and fats that are a natural by-product of producing high quality meat, fried foods, and high protein soybean meal. In fact, the soybeans used to make biodiesel in the US in 2009 producted enough soybean meal for 72 billion rations of protein. Some studies have even show that utilizing the by-product sybean oil actually makes the price of soybean meal less expensive. The basic rule of thumb is when demand for soybean oil increase, the price of the other soybean component (meal) decreases, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture funded study by CENTREC Consulting Group, LLC. Increasing demand for soybean oil benefits livestock feeders through lower meal prices. Biodiesel helps meet our nation's energy AND food needs without using new land or drilling for - or importing- dwindling supplies of fossil fuels.

MYTH:
Bioheat causes land to be cleared and is not an 'Advanced Biofuel'.

FACT:
Under the relatively new Renewable Fuel Standard 2 (RFS2), the US EPA has thoroughly evaluated biodiesel and has declared biodiesel an Advanced Biofuel. Advanced Biofuels are only those biofuels produced on existing land and tha tmeet the minimum threshold of over 50% reduction in life cycle carbon emissions compared to petrodiesel. Biodiesel easily meets or exceeds these requirements since the fats and oils used to make biodiesel are grown on existing land as by-products of producing food and provide an over 80% reduction in life cycle CO2 emissions compared to petrodiesel. This recent declaration by EPA makes biodiesel the only commercially available diesel fuel alternative that falls under the "Advanced Biofuel" catergory of RFS2. Bioheat is now a cost effective option to meet the over 5 billion gallons of "Advanced Biofuels" under the biomass based diesel and non-differentiated advanced catergories of RFS2.