In March, the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Ferries Division began its second attempt in four years to fuel ferries with a biodiesel blend. The WSDOT has partnered with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Imperium Renewables, Rainier Petroleum, Sound Refining, Seattle City Light, the U.S. Department of Energy, Washington State University and the University of Idaho, to test biodiesel use in a marine environment.
The 124-car ferry Issaquah has been running on a five-percent blend of soy biodiesel since March 10 and so far there haven’t been problems. In 2004, the ferries division ran a B20 blend in the Issaquah and other ferries, but had to abandon the program due to severe clogging in the vessels’ filters and purifiers.
Paul Brodeur, director of vessel maintenance, preservation and engineering for the division, said, “so far we’ve been running successfully. We’re about ready to bring our second vessel (the Tillikum) on at the end of this week. It’ll be back in operation on April 7.”
Maintenance crews will ease the 87-car Tillikum into its new diet of fuel with a B5 blend of canola biodiesel. All biodiesel used by the ferry division is BQ-9000 certified and meets ASTM specifications.
The plan initially called for increasing the percentage of biodiesel used in each ferry every 30 days. Brodeur said they will decide soon when the fuel used in the Issaquah will be increased to a 10 percent blend of biodiesel, as scheduled.
The WSDOT’s marine biodiesel experiment has been more successful this time for several reasons, said Brodeur. Fuel tanks were more aggressively cleaned this time. The Issaquah’s tanks were hand-wiped with B100 in addition to being pressure washed. “That was something we didn’t do in 2004,” he said. “Before we just pressure washed and dried the tanks. Whether that’s the reason we’re having success…it’s too early to say that at this point. Certainly the tank cleaning was just one area that we looked to make improvements in. Blending procedures are much the same as in 2004, but I think the production of the fuel is probably somewhat different. That could contribute to the success of this project as well.”
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Until the blends are increased to at least 20-percent biodiesel, Brodeur is cautious about stating the project is a success. In the 2004 project, B20 was the initial biodiesel percentage used. Tests are scheduled using the ferries until February 2009. At that time, officials may decide to begin fueling all 28 of Washington State Ferries with biodiesel-blended fuel. Brodeur said costs will have to be determined, as well as other logistical issues. “We’re spread out over a large geographic area, so there would be some logistics as to getting some fuel products to certain vessels,” said Brodeur.
The WSDOT decided to test biodiesel again in response to the Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire’s call for all state agencies to use at least 20 percent biodiesel by 2009. According to the WSDOT, the state ferry system uses more than 17 million gallons of diesel every year.
The Washington State Ferries division is the largest ferry system in the United States and carries more vehicles than any other ferry system in the world.