UAF helps Purdue test soy diesel in road test

SNRAS Dean Carol Lewis and Purdue's Bernie Tao at the March 9 seminar

Cold weather testing of soy biodiesel conducted by Purdue University, the Indiana Soybean Alliance, and UAF this past week made scientist Bernie Tao happy. “I knew this stuff would work,” he told over sixty attendees at a seminar hosted by SNRAS and the Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation March 9. Yet the Purdue researcher was excited to see firsthand how well his creation, Permaflo biodiesel, worked in Alaska.

Tao, along with Indiana farmers and Indiana Soybean Alliance representatives, rode in UAF diesel vehicles fueled with Permaflo from Anchorage to Fairbanks on March 5 and from Fairbanks to the Arctic Circle on March 7 for an overnight camping trip. At the seminar, Tao thanked UAF Assistant Professor Andy Soria for helping the group survive the cold weather and road conditions.

UAF Assistant Professor Andy Soria pumps soy biodiesel into a truck for the ride to the Arctic Circle

While there are many biodiesel products on the market this one is specially designed to work in cold temperatures. Tao had tested the product in his lab but this was a chance to see how it worked on the road and in the camp.

The process of making Permaflo is efficient and simple, Tao explained. He predicted economic benefits for Fairbanks if a similar biodiesel can be created and used here. UAF Associate Professor Mingchu Zhang highlighted his canola research to the audience. He hopes to develop a canola industry in Alaska in a similar manner to what Indiana has done with soybeans.

ISA spokesman Ryan West said he was very proud of the way the product performed in Alaska. “We put 1,300 miles on a pickup truck using pure Permaflo B100 biodiesel with no additives and no indoor storage,” he said.

Doug Morrow, president of ISA, said it’s not often the growers get to see a product tested. “To be able to come up here and work with the University of Alaska has been great for us,” he said. “It has been beyond belief.”

Soybean farmer Mike Yoder said renewable energy in the Lower 48 is a “nice to thing to do,” but in Alaska it could be a matter of survival. “I applaud you for your work,” he said.

Dr. Soria researches woody biomass for UAF and is considered a pioneer in the alternative energy arena. While most of his work is done in a lab at the Palmer Research and Extension Center, Soria said he was thrilled to spearhead the Alaska road test for soy biodiesel. “I commend ISA for understanding the value of research,” he said.

Further reading:
•"Testing soy biodiesel in Alaska," SNRAS Science & News blog post, Feb. 26, 2009