By JANE HOUIN
Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cleaner air, healthier kids and a growing biodiesel industry all go hand-in-hand with the Clean Air for Kids campaign. Recently announced by the Ohio Soybean Council (OSC), the program is designed to promote the use of soy biodiesel in school buses across Ohio and the school bus biodiesel grant program made available to school districts.

Designed specifically for the B20 soy biodiesel blend (20 percent soy biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel), the school bus biodiesel grant program, established in Governor Strickland’s biennium budget, will help school districts pay for the incremental cost of using soy biodiesel in their buses. This will give schools an added cost incentive to use B20 soy biodiesel, in addition to the environmental and health benefits for students.

Clean Air for Kids will promote B20 soy biodiesel to decision makers in Ohio’s 600 school districts as a sensible alternative fuel that burns cleaner and releases fewer emissions into the air compared to conventional petroleum. This environmental benefit is even more important when considering school buses with children in close proximity. Several Ohio school districts have already made the switch and are using soy biodiesel.

But one of the reasons that more school districts have not switched is because, on average, B20 soy biodiesel costs more than petroleum diesel. The school bus biodiesel grant program included in the budget seeks to address this cost barrier. Through marketing efforts by the Clean Air for Kids program, the goal is to have 100 Ohio school districts using B20 soy biodiesel in their fleets by 2009.

“For more than a decade, the soybean checkoff has funded the research and development of soy biodiesel and we are finally seeing it as a mainstream alternative fuel source,” said Dan Corcoran, OSC chairman and Pike County soybean farmer. “School bus fleets provide tremendous opportunity to grow Ohio’s soy biodiesel industry even more. The Clean Air for Kids program will not only give school districts the incentives to use soy biodiesel, but will promote a fuel source that is cleaner burning for our children.”

According to the organization Clean Fuels Ohio, emissions from vehicles are the single largest contributor to air pollution in central Ohio, where rapid growth in population and vehicles miles traveled is beginning to create “big city” regional air quality problems. Motor vehicles account for nearly 50 percent of the smog in Central Ohio.
Air pollution shortens lives, causes respiratory ailments, and increases health care costs. According to a review of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data, 79 percent of the cancer risk from airborne sources comes from diesel exhaust. New research points to causal link between exposure to smog and development of asthma.

Children are particularly vulnerable and are often more greatly exposed according to Clean Fuels Ohio. They cite a California study that demonstrated children traveling inside school buses breathed air with four times the particulate concentrations than the air outside.

“OSC would like to recognize and thank its sister organization, the Ohio Soybean Association (OSA) for its work in the legislature to ensure the inclusion of the biodiesel grant program in the budget,” said Corcoran. “Soybean farmers stand to benefit a great deal from this program and the continued attention OSA pays to government activities.”

The school bus biodiesel grant program is one of several alternative fuel policy initiatives included in the state budget, and will be administered by the Ohio Department of Development. Details regarding grant application and requirements are forthcoming.

Soy biodiesel is a renewable diesel fuel that is made from soybeans, a domestic resource grown in Ohio. Soy biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine with no modifications. It significantly cuts harmful environmental emissions, promotes greater energy independence, and boosts our economy. Ohio currently produces 45 million gallons of soy biodiesel each year. It is available from 150 soy biodiesel distributors and consumers can fill-up at more than 50 retail locations across the state.

According to Clean Fuels Ohio data, biodiesel has greater lubricity, enhances cleansing properties and a higher cetane rating compared with conventional diesel.  While it does have a slightly lower energy content, practical experience has shown that use of blends of B20 can possibly lower increase diesel fuel economy. This is likely a result of reduced deposits on engine components resulting from biodiesel use.  Some users also have experienced reduced engine wear and successful extension of oil change intervals.

Headquartered in Columbus, the Ohio Soybean Council is governed by an 18-member volunteer farmer board, which directs the Soybean Promotion and Research Program.
Clean Fuels Ohio is a non-profit organization formed in January 2002 under the original name of Central Ohio Clean Fuels Coalition and is based at the Ohio State University center for Automotive Research.

Their mission is to increase the use of cleaner American fuels and vehicles and energy-saving transportation technologies in order to improve air quality and health, reduce climate change, curb dependence on imported petroleum and support Ohio’s economy.

This farm news was published in the Aug. 1, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.